The End of Unimatrix Zero, The Season 7 Trilogy
by Eydie Munroe
Summary: How the season six cliffhanger should be resolved
1. The End of Unimatrix Zero

The End of Unimatrix Zero

By Eydie Munroe

July 2000

Disclaimer:

This is what you won't see when the actual, Paramount authorized version of Unimatrix Zero II airs this fall. And to TPTB, if you're listening (and I know you are), feel free to use any ideas here. You've obviously hidden a secret camera in my living room somewhere anyway, so who am I to mess with tradition?

Please send any thoughts, criticism or good dessert recipes to [eydiemunroe@hotmail.com][1]

It had been almost four weeks since Torres, Janeway and Tuvok were assimilated. So far the plan seemed to be going smoothly, but Tuvok had been the only one that actually appeared in Unimatrix Zero. Chakotay had to remind himself that the Doctor had warned him, just after they had escaped from battling the tactical cube, that the possibility of any of them appearing in Unimatrix Zero was slim at best. So he had nodded solemnly and listened to the reports that Seven gave every time she slept.

There were so many variables in this plan, so many things that could go wrong. The virus that had been implanted in their bodies was designed to interrupt the operation of the central plexus, and there was a chance that it would act as a beacon for Voyager when they came back to retrieve their officers. This was all provided that the Doctor had been completely thorough in removing any knowledge of the virus from the three. If any inkling of the plan remained in their memory engrams, this would all have been for nothing. And Janeway, Tuvok and Torres would have been sacrificed in vain.

The whole thing gave Chakotay a permanent headache. Try as he might, he wasn't quite able to hide his uneasiness during these weeks, and it progressively got worse. The only person that could truly understand what he was going through was Tom Paris, and even though he knew he needed it, Chakotay wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet. There was still too much up in the air, too much uncertainty. And Paris had pretty much clammed up, just as much as he had. So he went through the motions every day, waiting until the signal appeared that would let them jump back into action.

He could only stare at damage reports for so long before the stress of the situation got the better of him, and he retreated into the ready room. Kathryn's ready room. He stopped just inside the doors, wondering if it was really prudent for him to be in here without her. It had only happened a handful of times before, starting, oddly enough, during their initial confrontation with the Borg. This was her place of safety, her sanctuary when she need to think or to be just be alone. She spent far too much time here as far as he was concerned. A faint smile played across his lips as he remembered the many times he had come here, trying to coax her out and into an evening with him, and with the crew.

He shook his head. She wasn't here. And he wasn't sure if he would ever have the chance to try and coax her into anything again. After finally deciding that it was alright for him to use her office space, he sat down behind her desk and attempted to get back to work. The uncertainty manifested itself in the form of a headache, pounding through his temples and behind his eyes. He groaned as he dropped the padd to the desk, his hands coming up to support his head. 

It was no use. He was haunted. Haunted by that last look, the one that never quit from the moment she reached for his hand till the second she disappeared through the turbolift door. The moment that he had dreaded since starting the journey home was upon him. It was entirely possible that he would never see his Kathryn again. She would be lost to him, never knowing the full force of his love for her or that she would be able to acknowledge her love for him. And to be left in the clutches of the Borg was a fate worse than death. It left Chakotay in a highly unusual stir of helplessness - all he could do was wait.

__

"Chakotay..."

His head snapped up, rewarding him with an extra hard pound through his temples. Her voice, clear as day, had just echoed through the room. A look around brought him to her terminal, where it had been unceremoniously tossed to the floor underneath the desk during the fight. No one had been in here to clean things up since then. He slid out of the chair, down onto shaking knees as he turned the screen upright. The Federation logo was placed in the centre, with a script saying _message waiting..._ displayed underneath. He stared at it for a moment, then finally hit the activation key.

The logo was instantly replaced by her image, a nervous smile on her face. _"If you're seeing this now, this means that you've come into my ready room for the first time since I left."_ She paused, gathering her thoughts. _"I know that it hasn't been easy for you to support me on this, and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that a part of me wishes you would have fought me till I changed my mind. But I think that you know how much your support means to me ... how much it has always meant to me."_

Chakotay watched in silence, his back against the leg of the desk and the terminal balanced across his knees. _"I have no intention of these actually being my last words to you,"_ she continued, _"but it's important that a few things be said here. If I am irretrievable, don't destroy Voyager trying to get me back. Make sure that our mission is accomplished, and then head for home. Voyager will be your ship, and I expect you to pick up where I left off. If you don't, don't doubt for a second that I'll come back to haunt you."_

She seemed to know just when to pause, allowing time for him to chuckle at the twisted humor in her last sentence. _"As for you, I want you to remember this ..."_ She drew a breath to steady herself. _"I have never considered myself an incomplete person where my relationships are concerned - even when Justin died or when Mark got left behind in the alpha quadrant, I grieved for them but never felt I was personally missing a piece of myself. But once I met you, all of that changed. You have been my sounding board, and you've always helped centre me when I needed it. You let me run, and you point out that I am not always a reasonable woman."_ She let out a small laugh. _"I think that's how you put it that time. But above all, Chakotay, I am so grateful for your companionship - and your love, even if I couldn't acknowledge it until now."_ Kathryn smiled, this time genuinely. _"I love you. And I'll see you soon."_ She reached forward, touching her fingertips to the screen before the transmission ended.

Chakotay shook his head, then played the message three more times before he even moved out from under her desk. Her words bolstered him, and he now found that he would be able to ride this out a little more easily now. "Computer," he called out, "transfer Captain Janeway's message into my personal database."

__

"Message transferred."

***

Seven of Nine looked around the lush forest, immediately spotting Axum standing with Laura just outside the structure. He saw her almost as quickly as she did him, and he called to her, "Anika!"

She quickly made her way over to the pair, sensing their anticipation. "You have news?" she asked flatly, remaining as non-committal to him as she had become when she remembered their past history.

"Yes." Laura answered first, clearly filled with excitement. "Everyone has started retaining the memories here when they wake. It's been two cycles now."

"Which means that it won't be much longer before the queen realizes it," Axum added. "We're already working toward severing the hive mind. It will probably take another two cycles."

"We'll need a distraction," Laura told them, her Starfleet training kicking in now. "Something to occupy the queen while we plant the new virus into the central plexus."

"If your ship is going to do something, it will have to be in the next twenty-six hours," Axum reminded her.

Seven looked from one to the other, noticing the mixture of excitement and apprehension that filled both of them. "I will inform the commander," she assured them, then winked out of their existence as she woke herself up.

***

The final staff meeting was a tense one. They were here to confirm everything. "Our first priority is going to have to be incapacitating the drones on the cube," the Doctor had started.

"Incapacitating them?" Neelix echoed, really not understanding why.

"The normal drones will be disoriented when they are severed from the hive mind," Seven explained, impatience threading through her tone. "They will not have any rational thought process of their own. It is quite possible they will start trying to assimilate the first beings they see."

"So let them assimilate each other," Tom said, his own voice oddly cold.

Chakotay had noticed this hardening of personality in Paris since B'Elanna was assimilated. "If they do that," he reminded him, "they'll kill each other. And quite possibly our people with them." This information silenced the helmsman, and Chakotay once again turned his attention to everyone. "The question is how do we do it?"

"Normally it would just be a matter of dispersing a sedative like Nezandrizine into the ventilation systems," the Doctor offered. "But being Borg, that may not be enough."

All eyes fell on Seven. She returned their gazes, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the sudden scrutiny. She thought about it for a while, and then the solution came to her. "It is very possible that when the connection to the hive is severed, the vinculum will still be online, which means that the internal connections between drones will still exist. We could simply instruct them to sleep."

"Sleep?" This time it was Chakotay who echoed her.

She nodded. "The first Borg cube that traveled to Earth was incapacitated when the command to _sleep_ was given through Locutus," she informed them. "It then self-destructed. A cube cannot function with all of its drones in regeneration cycles at the same time."

The first officer looked at her, and wanted to confirm, "So what you're saying is that once we do this, we will only have a few minutes to find our people and get them out?"

"Precisely."

"Wait a minute," Harry spoke up. "Can't we just instruct the drones that are already regenerating to stay there, and then put the rest to sleep with the sedative?"

Once again all eyes turned to Seven. She immediately said, "It might work."

Everyone gaped at her, wondering if that was really the best answer she could give them. Before anyone could say anything, the Doctor added, "The question is ... what do we do with them then?"

"What do you mean?" Tom asked, nervous about the answer.

"We are going to be faced with thousands of drones disconnected from the hive mind," the EMH explained. "It's a good bet that they will all react the same way Seven did. We can't just leave them all to die."

Though the thought crossed all of their minds, the Doctor was right. "Maybe if we can keep them incapacitated, it will also keep them in their current states," Harry suggested quietly. "If the cube doesn't blow up, that is." He squirmed under the sudden attention he was getting, being silently chastised for even suggesting the worst.

The first officer nodded and then ordered, "Get to work on incapacitating them first. We have to be ready the second that the connection to the hive is severed. Then we'll worry about whether or not we can save them. Dismissed." He watched everybody leave, then turned out to look at the unmoving stars as his thoughts took him over again. Even after her message the week before, his brooding took him through everything again, reliving every exchange, every word, and the way her eyes never left him as she headed for the turbolift. _Just hang on, Kathryn,_ he silently whispered to the stars, _we're coming to get you._

***

The Doctor ran his tricorder in a pattern encircling Seven's head, then tapped his communicator. "Doctor to Bridge."

__

"Go ahead, Doctor." The anxiety in Chakotay's voice was unmistakable.

"Commander, she's been disengaged from Unimatrix Zero," he reported, continuing to run his scans.

On the bridge, Chakotay's fingers instinctively curled around the arms on his chair. "Understood Doctor. Mr. Paris, set course for the cube, warp nine."

"Aye Sir." Paris tapped the instructions into the conn, a grim look setting into his features.

It set into everyone's features. This was it.

***

No sooner than Voyager had dropped out of warp, the cube opened fire. They started to lay down fire, aiming for the primary weapon and regeneration systems.

"I've located B'Elanna and Tuvok!" Harry shouted triumphantly over the din.

"Can you get a lock on them?"

Manipulating his controls, the ensign's grin broadened. "Yes sir."

"Beam them to Sickbay. Bridge to Sickbay."

__

"Sickbay here."

"Doctor, we've located Tuvok and Torres," Chakotay informed him. "You're going to have to do this without Tom." He turned to Parsons at Tactical, who nodded her response to him. "Security is on its way."

In Sickbay, the Doctor was already moving out of his office and into the tiny ward. "Understood, Commander," he responded, then moved on to call his medical volunteers in. The ship shuddered under another enemy shot, the deck lurching beneath them as the two drones materialized in the middle of the room. They stood facing each other, immediately starting to scan their new surroundings. "Doctor to bridge. We have them." Their biggest obstacle was severing them from the hive mind, which nearly didn't happen. But being skilled at what they were all doing, after five minutes it was done, and the pair were finally sedated.

They exchanged volleys for nearly half an hour before the cube's firepower suddenly turned off.

"Parsons?" Chakotay nearly shouted from the command seat.

The lieutenant at Tactical eagerly read through her scan results. "The cube is powering down," she reported quickly.

"Their link with the Collective has been severed," Seven reported from the aft station.

"Can you get a fix on the captain?" Chakotay questioned, turning to the tactical station.

Lieutenant Parsons shook her head. "Nothing yet, sir."

"The drones are starting to wake up," Harry called from his station. "The life sign readings are going through the roof!"

"How many are you counting?"

Kim studied his readouts for a few seconds, the information stunning him. "Four thousand ... five thousand ..." He looked up with wide eyes. "Six thousand and climbing."

Chakotay called up the information on his own console, his headache returning with the prospect of being faced with more than six thousand possibly angry and definitely disoriented drones. "Chakotay to the Doctor."

__

"Go ahead, Commander."

"Time to put everybody back to sleep," he ordered.

In Transporter Room Two, the Doctor, accompanied by full security and medical compliments, did a last minute check of their supplies. "We're on our way," he reported back to the bridge, stepping onto the pad and being surrounded by armed guards. "Energize," he told the technician.

The entire group materialized deep inside the cube, in the middle of a long stretch of regeneration alcoves. The drones were in various states of consciousness, some still in oblivion, some alert and definitely disoriented. He quickly surmised that with their implants and no controllable thought, they were in a dangerous situation. The second and third transports materialized only moments behind them, and the Doctor immediately spearheaded the move toward what passed for the Borg's environmental controls. Once there, he was able to distribute a sedative through the air at the same time that Seven planted her sleep command for those drones that were still stuck in their regeneration cycles.

The medical team scanned around their immediate area with tricorders, and after they reported back to the CMO he tapped his communicator. "Doctor to Voyager."

__

"Go ahead."

"The drones seem to have been incapacitated for the moment," the hologram reported, "but for how long, I can't tell you."

__

"Understood. You can start transporting your surgical cases as soon as needed."

"Yes sir." The Doctor instantly beamed back to Voyager, leaving the teams to set to work, each taking the drone nearest to them.

Back on Voyager, Chakotay's anxiety was rapidly building to a head. "Can you find her yet?" he snapped at Parsons.

She shook her head again. "No sir."

"There are so many human readings," Harry interrupted, "that there may be no way to tell one from the next." He watched his commander for a moment. "Now what do we do?"

"We go look for her ourselves." Chakotay leapt out of his chair and headed for the tactical station, now filled with a sense of purpose. "Lieutenant," he addressed Parsons, "organize search teams to start working through the cube. Use anyone that is not involved in repairs to this ship. Let me know as soon as they're ready to beam over."

He then blew past her and into the turbolift, the doors closing so quickly behind him that her response of, "Yes sir," was to open air and the remaining bridge crew. She exchanged glances with Harry before starting to organize the teams.

The first officer blew into Sickbay a few minutes later, his expression unreadable. "Report."

The Doctor was already busily engaged in removing the implants that ringed the back of B'Elanna's head, with Sam Wildman assisting him from the other side of the biobed. "They're going to be fine," he said hurriedly, wishing that the commander could have found some other place to be at the moment. On the other side of the ward, two more volunteers were working, through the Doctor's instructions, on Tuvok's outer implants. One of them called for the hologram, and he left some departing instructions with Sam before crossing the ward. "The plan worked," he continued, stopping to allow the crewman to explain what the problem was. Once he had rectified the problem, the Doctor took a few seconds to address the first officer properly. "We were lucky. The virus that we originally implanted in them to infect the central plexus also affected their regeneration technology. That's why we were able to beam then off the cube."

***

The search teams were spread thinly throughout the cube, which was now hanging dead in space. For the moment things seemed to be stable, and there were no indications of a self-destruct mechanism being activated. More than eighty of the Voyager crew had transported here, with tricorders in hand, on a desperate search to find their captain among the drones. Many forewent sleep and meals to continue. After all, they all knew that Janeway would have done the same thing for them.

Chakotay threaded his way through a block of regeneration alcoves, actively scanning each body he came across. After nearly nineteen hours, there were no further ahead than when they started. With each negative result, his heart sank a little more, and his frustration leapt another notch. Any hope of finding Kathryn was rapidly fading, but he couldn't give up. He wouldn't give up.

He had been in silence for an hour or so, having left the necessity of repair updates and injury lists to Harry Kim. Kim also continued his efforts from his Ops station, trying to refine his scans to locate a single human female. So the sound of a voice through his communicator made Chakotay jump out of his skin. _"Voyager to Chakotay."_

A rushed breath passed his lips, and with an inaudible groan he took his attention away from his tricorder. _What now?_ "Go ahead, Harry."

__

"We found her, Commander." The ensign's relief was unmistakable. _"She's been transported to Sickbay."_

The news was overwhelming, almost enough to buckle Chakotay's knees under him. But somehow calmer thinking prevailed. "Acknowledged. Tell Parsons to start recalling the search teams. And I want a meeting of the senior staff in twenty minutes."

__

"Aye Sir. Kim out."

He tapped his communicator. "Chakotay to Sickbay. Do you have the captain?"

Samantha had to suppress a small grin when she saw the Doctor's holographic eyes roll up into his head. He was still making his initial assessment and diagnosis, and definitely did not need to be disturbed. "She's here, Commander," he answered sharply. "I'll let you know as soon as I have something. Sickbay out."

Chakotay was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook his head as he folded his tricorder shut. He should have known better. If there was one thing that he was sure of concerning the doctor it was that, his medical responsibilities aside, he had an unwavering and protective attitude toward her. An attitude that a lot of people shared.

He signaled for his own beam out. Now that they had succeeded, they had to figure out the next step.

***

This meeting was emotionally charged, each person demonstrating a great deal of restraint in the intent of functioning smoothly. Tom's mood had lightened considerably since B'Elanna's return to the ship, but until she could speak to him he was still quite uneasy. Chakotay, after having been summarily dismissed by the Doctor, was deep into his own brooding. Neelix was running himself ragged, trying to make sure that everyone's fears were being appeased and needs being met when their duties didn't permit leaving their posts. Harry was fighting overwhelming exhaustion, having refused to leave the bridge until the captain was back on board. Joe Carey was silent, having been too busy in Engineering to have attended the first meeting and nervous to be here now. Parsons was a little unsure of what to think, still not adjusted to filling in for Tuvok at these meetings. _At least I know now that it's only filling in,_ she reminded herself.

The only person who didn't show any real signs of stress was Seven of Nine. The unflappable woman merely sat back and regarded those around her, not missing the educational aspect of the situation. She had always thought of humans as weak, never including herself with them. But the events of the past two days proved that these people were indeed strong, stronger than the Borg would have given them credit for.

"What's the status of the cube?" Chakotay finally said, pacing behind the chair that Janeway usually occupied. He didn't dare sit down – if he did, he'd be asleep.

"There's no signs of regeneration in the central plexus or the vinculum," Parsons reported instantly, still sounding a bit overanxious. The result of her recent promotion to bridge officer. "All systems appear to be powered down and stable."

"Any sign of other Borg activity?"

"None," Kim added, desperately trying to hide his yawn.

"That doesn't mean that there won't be," Seven reminded them. "We must remember that we only know for certain that this cube has been disengaged from the Collective. And that Unimatrix Zero has disappeared."

They all looked to each other for a moments, silence filling the space between them. "So now that we have this cube, what do we do with it?" Tom mused.

"Is there any way to access their transwarp technology?" Chakotay directed at Seven. "Can we access it in order to make Voyager travel at transwarp?"

"I will have to investigate," she replied.

Suddenly an idea popped into Carey's head. "What if we did one better," he offered.

"What do you mean?" the executive officer questioned, his curiosity piqued.

Torres' second in command lit up when he said, "What if we used the cube itself?" he said, his excitement building. The looks he got were ones of pure shock, so he explained his logic. "The last time we tried to open a transwarp conduit, we ended up dumping the core," he reminded them all. "Think about it. The cube was constructed and designed with transwarp flight in mind."

"So in other words, steal the cube," Tom mumbled, slowly warming to the idea.

Every other person in the room had the same reaction, but it was pretty obvious that the possibility was worth the effort it would take to find out. Chakotay had been blind-sided by the idea, but had to admit that it did have merit. He thought about it for a minute, then finally said, "Carey, you and Seven get to work and see if it's still possible to go to transwarp." A collective sigh filled the room, then everybody was dismissed to get started.

***

Chakotay sat in his chair in the bridge, rigid. He had forced himself to stay here and concentrate on the work at hand. The Doctor would have thrown him right back out of Sickbay. Besides, they had a newly acquired Borg cube to secure.

He worked hard to keep his mind occupied, and hours had flown past when the Doctor finally summoned him. He strode into Sickbay, immediately seeing Tuvok and B'Elanna recouperating in the biobeds on the left hand side. Their implants were gone, a few replaced by dermal regeneration patches, and their skin had reverted back to its normal color. Chakotay noted their progress in his mind, then looked around for the EMH. He found him in the surgical bay, standing over their latest recovery.

The sight of her nearly stopped his heart. He knew that she would still be in the form of a drone, but on his way back to Voyager his exhausted imagination had envisioned Kathryn, whole and restored. He hadn't seen her since her return, and it took everything he had to start breathing again. "Report," he said stiffly, trying to get himself back into order.

The Doctor shook his head. "It looks like the queen found a way to exact some chaos of her own." He directed Chakotay to the medical console to show him his findings. "She has been infected with a very specific virus, one that I believe was designed particularly for her."

"Another virus? Is that what kept us from locating her with sensors?"

"Most likely. It was triggered when I tried to remove the first Borg implant, and it collapsed her autonomic nervous system. She's on life support for now. So far I have not been able to find an anti-viral agent that will counteract the effects." He paused, watching as the first officer's eyes wandered up from the screen to stare at the drone in the surgical bay. "Commander?"

Despite appearances, Chakotay was still listening to the medical report. Acutely. "How do we proceed?" he questioned.

"That's the problem."

Chakotay turned toward him, now giving the doctor his undivided attention. His lips pressed into a tight line, effectively hiding the nervousness that was permeating his entire body. The Doctor continued with, "I am at a loss. But we also have another problem - her human physiology is already starting to reassert itself. I am reluctant to remove the implants until the virus is eradicated, but if I don't start removing the implants soon, they will kill her."

The key word hit him like a ton of bricks, and Chakotay's eyes immediately flicked back over to the drone. "What do you suggest?"

"Perhaps there is some information in the cube's database that could provide us with a cure," the hologram suggested.

The other nodded. "Give your findings to Seven of Nine so she can access the Borg database."

"Aye sir." The doctor headed into his office.

He left Chakotay standing in the middle of Sickbay, with no distractions to keep him from her. Caution filled his steps as he walked over to the biobed, apprehension filling him. The first sight of her had stopped him cold, now he wasn't sure what to think. He still couldn't figure out why he hadn't expected to see a drone when he came in - for some reason he had been hoping that she would be Kathryn again before he got there. Or that she would be conscious at the very least. But she lay silent, the rise and fall of her chest the only indication that she was indeed alive.

Silence filled the surgical bay as he finally reached her side. He wanted to touch her, wanted to somehow assure himself that it was indeed Kathryn Janeway under all that technology. Her skin was ashen, invaded by implant after implant scattered among the dark gray lines that streaked through her complexion. The implant that the doctor had tried to remove before was one of the tubes that had been burrowed down into her skull, and it uselessly lay on the mattress beside her head. There was no movement under her eyelids – nothing to let him know that it was actually her.

"Kathryn..." He breathed her name after a long, hard look at her. She remained infuriatingly still, his desperate eyes trying to see some movement in her. "I know you're in there somewhere," he reminded her softly. The only thought in his head was that she may still die, may still succumb to the Borg. And to Chakotay, that was simply unacceptable. "I don't know if you can hear me," he whispered, "but I want you to remember something." His hand lifted from the cool surface of the medical scanner to cradle her cheek, and he told her, "I'm not ready to let you go yet."

It was then that Kathryn reappeared for a brief second, unconsciously nestling her cheek into his palm. The movement tore a gasp from him, but he didn't pull away. He waited for a few moments to see if she would surface again, but she slipped back into the drone she had been only seconds earlier. At least he knew now. She wanted to come back to him. Chakotay found himself smiling down at her assimilated face, and he gently brushed his thumb across her cheekbone before quickly turning around and leaving Sickbay.

The Doctor released both B'Elanna and Tuvok a few hours later, advising both to take some time off. Tuvok did, retreating to his quarters for some necessary meditation and rest before resuming his duties. Torres, on the other hand, decided that she needed neither sleep or reflection at the moment, and instead fearlessly turned her energies to helping secure the Borg cube. She would not allow herself to cower from memories of her own assimilation. They had an advantage now – a chance to get home, and the Borg be damned. It had taken her only long enough to have a quick sonic shower, get into a fresh uniform, and unconditionally dismiss both Tom and Chakotay's protests before she was back on the cube.

At around that time the Doctor paged the first officer back to Sickbay. Chakotay strode into the office, his brow furrowed. "Status, Doctor?"

The EMH looked back from the wall console when the other man entered. "Seven's new anti-virus appears to be working," he announced, gesturing for Chakotay to join him. He pointed out the readings as he explained them. "So far, the viral levels are dropping at a rate of five percent per hour. And I believe that once it drops below forty-five percent I will be able to start removing her implants."

Chakotay nodded, some relief creeping into his expression. "Prognosis?"

"Guarded," the Doctor confirmed, "but optimistic. It will take time, but I believe the captain will make a full _physical _recovery." He could see that the meaning of his words were not lost on Voyager's first officer. "She's drifting in and out of consciousness. It would be helpful to her if she saw a friendly face when she comes to again."

Chakotay blinked – the doctor had read his mind. But he was torn. Kathryn hated that kind of sentimentality, especially when it was directed at her. If it was him in the bed, she wouldn't be able to do it, partly to maintain her position and partly to keep herself busily distracted. He knew his place was by her side, and he also knew that this was only the beginning of a new shift in their relationship. It was small, but he hoped that the gesture would be a help to her. So he nodded his acquiescence to the Doctor, and settled himself into a chair to wait at her bedside.

Hours later, Kathryn's eyes started to slowly open. The first thing she saw was the dimmed lights in the ceiling, barely illuminating the sculpted bulkheads above her. She was completely calm, very aware of where she was before even waking up. She knew that if there was a problem with her, she would now be flanked by the Doctor and Tom Paris. Taking comfort in that fact, she allowed her eyes to slowly scan the room.

Her eyes wandered lazily, seeing the soft light that shone through the window of the office. But she sensed a presence beside her, and her head carefully turned toward her right. He was asleep at her side, his head resting on the arms that he had folded over the edge of the bed. She could see his face, peaceful in slumber, and she couldn't help but wonder what was drifting through his dreams. A small smile played at the corner of her mouth, and she lifted a heavy hand to rest it in his hair. Her thumb rubbed at the curve of his ear, but only for a second or two before she fell asleep again.

B'Elanna Torres strode into Sickbay a while later, her face covered with grime and a wide grin. The sight that greeted her stopped her just inside the door, and she took a moment to take it in. Both Chakotay and the captain were asleep, her hand resting on his head. It was something that made her heart skip a beat, something that she had wished would happen for years. And it was something that she hated to break up. But they had work to do. So she carefully stepped up and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Chakotay?"

He awoke with a slight jump, momentarily startled by the fact that his left eye was partially covered. But then he remembered where he was, and as he took Kathryn's hand into his he smiled sheepishly at Torres. "What's your status?" he questioned, his voice thick with sleep.

"We're just about ready," she reported, her hands rubbing together to alleviate some of her excitement. "The cube is in good shape, you didn't manage to inflict too much damage on it. We should be able to take over its operations in about two days. And Seven is sure that it will be capable of transwarp."

"Any signs of transwarp conduits or Borg activity?"

"Other than ours, none."

He nodded, taking a deep breath. "Well, let's get to work on getting control over those systems. If no one comes to bother us, I'd like to wait until the captain is back in one piece before we set off." His gaze turned back to his friend, whose hand he was still tightly clutching.

"Actually, that's why I came. Tom and I wanted you to look over some of the specifications for the conn link. And you didn't answer when I called you." B'Elanna rested her hand on his shoulder again, moving a step closer to take a look at the patient. "She's going to be fine, Chakotay," she reassured him, her hand rubbing across his shoulder blade. "She's going to be very happy with what's you've done here."

"What _we've_ done." He turned back to her, reaching his free hand up to her. "Are you okay, B'Ella?" he asked, squeezing her hand tightly.

She nodded. "I will be." Torres looked at him, struggling with the words that she wanted to say. An inward curse filled her thoughts – she had always been lousy at this part, even though Tom assured her she was getting better at it. "Thanks," she told him softly, "for coming to get us."

Chakotay didn't say anything, just merely nodding his response. He leant down and whispered in Kathryn's ear, "I'll be back soon, Love." Then he carefully laid her hand down on her torso and followed Torres out of Sickbay.

***

__

"Sickbay to Commander Chakotay."

The amount of anxiety the first officer felt with that call had slowly managed to lessen each time he heard it. This time he was heavily embroiled in the salvage operation, helping establish the links that would allow Voyager to take control of the cube's primary systems. "Go ahead, Doctor," he answered, instinctively looking up into the air.

__

"Can you come down here?" The EMH gave no other explanation.

Chakotay nodded, a frown furrowing his brow as he replied, "I'm on my way." He turned to leave, feeling B'Elanna's hand on his arm to reassure him. A tired smile was his response. He then headed down to Deck Five as fast as his legs and the turbolift would carry him, making him a little out of breath when he reached his destination. The Doctor was at Janeway's bedside, running a tricorder across her newly restored body. Turning at the sound of the doors, Chakotay could see the smile on his face. "Doctor?" the commander simply requested.

"The virus has been eradicated, and the captain's implants have now been removed." The Doctor glanced down at the tricorder readings before quietly closing it and stepping toward Chakotay. "I want to keep her here for a couple of days for observation." The other nodded his approval, but the Doctor felt the need to add, "I'm going to need a little help convincing her of that." This prompted a full fledged smile from Chakotay, the first that he had felt in more than a month. "She's asleep now, but I thought you might like to be here to wake her up," the Doctor continued. "She seems to respond better to you."

"Alright," Chakotay finally said, laughter filtering into his voice as he effectively cut the EMH off. He stepped up to the right side of her bed, taking her hand into his and leaning down to whisper, "Kathryn?" She stirred, but her eyes remained closed. "Kathryn?" he tried again. "You in there?"

Much like the last time, she was aware of who was surrounding her even before she realized she was awake. Her eyes opened slowly, immediately coming to rest on her friend. She licked her lips, and with a cracked voice whispered, "Hi..."

"Hi yourself," he replied, his smile broad and the furrow finally gone from his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

It took a minute for Janeway to answer him - she had to take stock and see how her body responded. Finally she simply said, "Tired."

"That's to be expected," the Doctor informed her from his place on the opposite side of the bed. "You've been through a lot, Captain."

"You're going to have to stay here a couple of days," Chakotay added.

She absorbed that bit of information and then asked, "The Borg?"

He mentally shook his head. She was never going to change. "Deactivated," he told her. "The hive seems to have stopped functioning. And Unimatrix Zero has disappeared."

Kathryn paused again, for the first time listening for the myriad of voices she had become so accustomed to. Only silence greeted her expectations, and she sighed a little. "Good."

Chakotay looked up at the EMH, who nodded. "You can stay as long as you like." And with that, he collected his medkit and headed down to the cargo bay, which had been turned into a ward for the recovering drones.

The first officer watched him leave, then turned his attention back to his captain. Her skin had returned to its former ivory complexion, and her reddish-brown hair had started growing back on its own. The Doctor would stimulate it later, but for now it sparsely covered her head. There was a large, oddly shaped dermal regeneration patch on the front right side of her head and one on the back of her neck, but other than that she seemed whole to him. Her grip on his hand was strong, and Chakotay found it reassuring. He didn't realize that he'd been staring until he felt a squeeze on his fingers. "Sorry," he whispered, his grin turning self-conscious. "I've missed you."

"Me too." Her eyes slid closed, but he knew that she wasn't asleep.

"I have some good news," he told her softly. "We're securing the cube that you were on. Seven and B'Elanna are working on taking over its systems. When it's done, we may have just found ourselves a way home."

She looked at him, and he saw a familiar glimmer of hope pass through her. "Home?" she repeated, unbelieving as she lifted her head slightly.

He nodded. "We can use the transwarp technology to get back to Earth."

Her head fell back against the pillow, her eyes closing again. "Earth..." she murmured, her tired mind wrapping around the information he had just provided. After a while she squeezed his hand again, and without looking said, "You're too good to me."

"Well somebody has to take care of you."

The slight, tired smile played at her lips again, and her eyes opened halfway to look at him when she whispered, "I love you."

Though she was exhausted, she knew exactly what she was saying, and she wouldn't have missed his reaction for anything. Chakotay didn't disappoint her either. Even though he had heard her say it in her message, his jaw still dropped. If she hadn't still been examining his face, he would have been sure that she had spoken the words out of some delirium. He knew that she was serious, that she would remember saying it when she was fully recovered ... and that she absolutely meant it.

Kathryn pulled her hand from his and reached upward, barely touching the skin of his jaw before her shaking arm dropped back to the biobed. He picked the hand up again, but this time he reached forward to caress her cheek in his hand, just as he had the first time he'd seen her in Sickbay. "I love you," he assured her, "more than anything."

Satisfied now, she let sleep overcome her again. He stayed there until B'Elanna called him again for help with the transition of the Borg systems.

***

The senior staff were all assembled on the bridge, nervously awaiting the return of their commanding officer. She made her appearance a few minutes after 0800, wanting to make them sweat a little. The Doctor had accompanied her in the turbolift, making sure that she was indeed going to survive this non-recommended trip. He had told her repeatedly that she was supposed to be resting. She in turn had told him that rest could wait – they were about to start on the last leg of their journey home, and there was only one place on this ship she should be. Chakotay had fully briefed her on the situation, and told her they were ready. With that she returned to her quarters to get herself arranged before allowing him to travel to the bridge with her.

Tuvok called, "Captain on the bridge," when the turbolift doors opened.

She took enough steps out to let the hologram step up behind her, and she surveyed everything. It was battle-scarred, with some conduits that were still in the process of being repaired, and a large burn mark across the bulkhead on the right side of the viewscreen. But all in all, it was intact, and it was home. 

All of the crew were at their stations, facing her at attention as they waited for her to speak. They could see the reaction in her, her eyes lit up and her posture lifted as soon as she returned to her bridge. "It's good to see you all," she finally said, quickly traveling down the steps that would lead her to the command centre. To Chakotay she questioned, "What's our status?"

"All systems are ready and integrated, all preparations in the cube are complete." He grinned at her. "We're ready whenever you are."

She nodded, then felt a surge of responsibility and energy pulse through her body when she settled down into the command chair. This was her place – it always had been – and she lived for this job. "Very well. Mr. Paris, take us into the hangar."

"Aye Captain." Paris resumed his station, as did everyone else. With the experience that his captain trusted implicitly, he turned the ship and headed her toward the opening in the cube's hull. A slight jolt shook them when the docking forcefields took hold of Voyager, gracefully suspending it in the middle of the vast cavern. "We're docked," he announced, unable to keep the smile off his face.

"Transfer all of the cube's systems to Voyager," Chakotay added, unable to keep his eyes off his captain. He wanted to see her reaction, wanted to know that she truly believed they were on their way.

One by one, each station acknowledged the receipt of control from the Borg systems they had integrated into Voyager. Seven stood behind the command centre, making sure that all the translations from the Borg algorithms and language were functioning flawlessly. When she was satisfied, they were ready. The image of the cavern disappeared from the viewscreen, replaced by a clear starfield that was being relayed from the newly placed sensors on the cube's outer hull.

Janeway nodded. She looked over at Chakotay, who she knew had been keeping his eye on her. "Open the transwarp conduit," she ordered, her eyes locking with his. The screen filled with a slight green glow, and when the conduit was open she told the helmsman, "Take us home, Mr. Paris."

"Yes ma'am." The cube moved into the conduit, then took off toward the alpha quadrant.

***

Later on, Captain Janeway was in her ready room, standing in front of the windows that usually allowed her to see out into space. It was a strange sight, staring at the inside of the cube, to say the least. To any other starship captain it would have been unnerving, even terrifying. But for one of the lucky who had been saved from the Collective, it was oddly calming - only because she knew that she had complete control over it.

When Chakotay told her that they had secured the cube and that they would be able to use its transwarp technology, she thought she was hallucinating. But he worked hard to convince her that it was indeed true, and along with Tuvok's help, her fragmented memories as a drone started to clear. She remembered functioning during the battle against Voyager, remembered hearing the voice of the others, oblivious to the attempt at her own rescue by her crew. Most of all, she remembered the moment that the all of the individuals' conscious thoughts entered the Collective. It instantly created chaos, overloading drones and disabling the queen. The unfortunate result of the destruction of the hive was that there were thousands of drones that were suddenly without the structure that maintained their bodies, and the hurriedly expanded medical team from Voyager could only work so fast. They had only managed to save two dozen before their implants killed the rest.

Her musings were broken when the door chime sounded. "Come in," she answered automatically. She didn't turn, but saw who it was by their reflection in the window. "Are you checking up on me?" Her question was laced with the sarcasm that had become standard when discussing her own medical condition.

Chakotay stopped at the base of the step, the same place he had been when she announced her intentions of helping the members of Unimatrix Zero. But this time, he couldn't help but smile. "I went back and checked the directives from Starfleet Command – it's actually in my job description." 

She laughed a small laugh, glancing briefly over her shoulder at him before turning her attention back to the inside of the cube. He moved up to take his place beside her, following her eyes out into the cavern that surrounded the ship. "How are our new passengers?" she questioned.

"Stable," he reported. "The Doctor says that they should start coming around within the next few hours. And it sounds like they will probably have just as hard a time readjusting as Seven did. There's no way to know how long ago they were assimilated."

Her words were soft, barely audible when she confessed, "I don't envy them what they're about to go through."

A long pause settled between them, both of them staring back out through the windows. Chakotay unconsciously lifted his right arm and wrapped it loosely around her shoulders to soothe her uneasiness. Her instinctive response was to lean in against his shoulder, though her arms remained folded across her chest. His other hand came to rest on her left bicep, effectively surrounding her. Kathryn reveled in his presence, completely devoid of any of the usual thoughts of protocol and parameters. He was the most important thing in her life - she finally admitted that to herself, and to him, when she had reached for his hand on the bridge five weeks ago. He had calmed her, centering her on the task at hand before letting her go to do what she had to.

Chakotay let his eyes slide closed, sighing when he felt the top of her head rest against his jaw. There was something calming and peaceful about the moment, one that he certainly hadn't seen in the four years since New Earth. He was unsure of what was going to happen next, but was incredibly thankful that he had been given the chance to find out. After a while he whispered, "You never mentioned my surprise. I like to at least have my gifts acknowledged, Kathryn."

She smiled, lifting her palm off her own arm to link her fingers with the hand at her elbow. "A Borg cube? Now there's something that nobody's ever thought to give me before. When I told you to surprise me, this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Well it wasn't easy," he murmured to her, his lips close to her ear as he tightened his hold around her. "I had to get everybody's help."

Chakotay chuckled behind her, and now she turned in his arms to look up at him. He lifted her hand to his chest, placing it flat down over his heart before covering it with his own. She looked up into his eyes, her voice barely a whisper. "After all these years of searching to find a way home, all I had to do was look to you to find it."

His gaze softened even more, a small smile playing at his lips. "I ran out of time to get the carpets cleaned – this was the best that I could do."

Their eyes locked, and he just knew that the time was right. A hand reached up to tuck the hair back behind her ear, and he leaned down to gently kiss her. It was soft, one that both approached with the careful passion that the other had fully expected. She felt him pull her closer, his fingers still resting in the hair over her ear. Her hand climbed up from his chest to wrap around his neck, the other wrapping around his back to hold him.

When they parted and pulled away a little, they discovered that there were tears in the other's eyes. Chakotay pulled her tight against him, stroking her hair as he rested his cheek against her head. She in turn laid her ear against his collarbone, burying her face in his neck. Both shed the odd silent tear, but their embrace relayed all the emotion coursing through them. "I never thought I'd see you again," he confessed, rocking her a little as he held her. "You scared the hell out of me."

"When we were watching the battle from the Delta Flyer," she murmured, "all I could think about what whether or not I was ever going to see you again." With their close contact came the freedom to admit, "I was so scared for you. And then when we were on the cube, I was terrified ... for me..." Her voice trailed off, choked by the emotions that constricted her throat.

He pulled her even tighter to him, kissing the top of her head and reassuring her, "It's okay, Love. You're safe now..." Chakotay felt the slight woman shudder in his arms, and he knew that she could no longer hold her tears back. It left him at a momentary loss – he had never seen her cry like this. The odd time she had shed a tear or two when listening to the Doctor sing opera, or at the memorial service of a lost crew member. But even then, her captain's demeanor had been so tightly secured that she would never allow any more than that, and she was usually embarrassed that she had shown that much loss of control. He carefully guided her to the couch, never breaking his connection with her, and consoled her as her barriers crumbled.

Kathryn didn't even realize that she was sobbing, only that it was something that was consuming everything she was. The work with Tuvok had brought order to the shards of memories that had confused her, but that was the only positive thing it had done. She was ridded with guilt and couldn't even begin to explain why. Kathryn finally stopped trying to explain it and just gave in.

He didn't say a word – he was still somewhat stunned by the sudden emotional upheaval, on both their parts. Sadness drifted through him as he wondered whether or not the kiss they had just shared would help or hurt their relationship. She obviously had not even dealt with the instability that had become her life in the past two days. She couldn't have been thinking straight. His eyes closed, and he shook his head a tiny bit when he realized how selfish the thought was. _Just be here for her now,_ he scolded himself. _You'll work the rest out later._

After a long while her shuddering ceased, evening out into a calm, regular breathing pattern. When she returned to some semblance of peace, he noticed with a flicker of amusement that she had fallen fast asleep against him. Chakotay smiled. As usual, she hadn't slept since her departure from Sickbay that morning. It was only noon, but the excitement of starting their trip home, combined with the exhaustion that permeated her still-recovering body, overwhelmed her and forced her to rest. He continued to hold her, not wanting to disturb her.

An hour later, just as Chakotay was himself nodding off, the silence was broken by a call over the comm. _"Sickbay to Captain Janeway."_

He started, a rush of adrenaline surging through his body. Then he remembered where he was, and was a little surprised when he looked down to see that Kathryn was still asleep in his arms. A quick sigh escaped his lips, and he looked up into the air as he quietly called, "Chakotay here."

__

"Where is Captain Janeway?" the Doctor questioned, somewhat annoyed that the subject of his communication hadn't answered herself. _"She was supposed to report to Sickbay half an hour ago."_

Chakotay glanced down at her, the corner of his lips curling into a smile. "She's asleep."

There was a distinct pause on the other end of the line. The fact that she was actually resting took a moment to sink in on the Doctor. _"Asleep ... very good. Commander, please make sure that the captain reports here when she wakes up."_

"Of course, Doctor."

__

"Sickbay out."

"Checking up on me again?"

He lowered his head even further, now seeing that she was smiling, her eyes still closed. "Part of my job, remember?" he softly reminded her.

"You worry about me too much."

"I don't have a choice."

She slowly raised her head, her eyes barely open as she looked up at him through the rapid onset of her headache. "I don't like you to worry," she whispered.

He smiled a bit more, tucking the hair back behind her ear again. "Then stop making me do it, Kathryn."

Any doubts he had about their kiss evaporated when she pushed herself up to kiss him again. And when she was done she breathed, "I love you."

His eyes slid shut, letting her words wrap around him and settle into his consciousness. An outstretched hand was his response, and she wordlessly folded her fingers into his. His eyes opened at her touch, and he leaned down to kiss her once more.

"Now that's more like it."

The pair both jumped at the sound of Q's voice, finding that he had appeared at the bottom of the step. "What are you doing here?" she quietly demanded, trying to cover as much of her exhaustion as she could.

"Relax, Madame Captain, I'm not planning on staying," Q assured her, raising an appeasing hand. "I just wanted to check up on you."

Chakotay's head bowed as he grinned. Her eyes slid shut, biting off the sarcastic remark that was at the forefront of her mind, and instead simply stated, "I'm fine, Q."

He regarded her for a second before commenting, "Yes, I supposed you are, aren't you." Then he turned his attention on the first officer that was still seated next to her. "I'm impressed, Chakotay. Destroy the Borg, and get yourselves a way home at the same time? It's ingenious for someone of your lower species."

"Thank you." Sometimes the easiest way to deflate your irritator was to simply humor him.

Q did a double take at Chakotay, then clapped his hands together in front of him. "Well Kathy, I'll be going now. Just wanted to make sure you're alright. But I'll be back..." He snapped his fingers and was gone, leaving the command team to stare at the space he had just occupied.

Kathryn sighed, her hand instinctively raising to try to rub the headache out of her temple. "Great. That's all I need." She looked to her first officer. "You put him up to it, right? How many other people are going to be checking up on me, Chakotay?"

He chuckled again. "As many as it takes, Kathryn." Chakotay looked at her for a moment or two, just taking her in. "You ready to go to Sickbay?" he eventually asked.

Kathryn shook her head. "Not just yet. The Doctor will be ecstatic if he thinks I've gotten this much sleep."

Chakotay laughed, pulling her close to him as he settled back into the couch. "I love you, Kathryn," he murmured, kissing the top of her head.

They eventually both fell asleep, and were left there undisturbed until late in the afternoon.

[ Go to the sequel – As Promised][2]

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   [1]: mailto:eydiemunroe@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/files/As_Promised.htm
   [3]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/story~ns4.html



	2. As Promised...

As Promised...

(a sequel to [The End of Unimatrix Zero][1])

by Eydie Munroe

September 2000

Disclaimer:Paramount owns them. So what else is new?

Captain Janeway was hurriedly moving across the full area of her ready room, readjusting and replacing the artifacts that usually lined the shelf that ran along the walls. She examined each article, glad to find that only one had actually been damaged enough to facilitate repair – her lucky teacup. The handle had been broken clean off, the flat edges of the porcelain ensuring that it could be easily fixed. She tested the powdery surface with her fingertip, her lips pressing into a thin line, then laid both pieces on her desk as she continued to put everything back into place. "Come in," she called when the door chime rang.

Her first officer walked inside, amused as he watched her move purposefully around the room. She had given him the day off as a reward for his exemplary performance during her time away, but he felt the need to check on her first thing in the morning. They hadn't spoken since he escorted her back to her quarters the afternoon before, and his concern was only natural.

"Don't just stand there," she told him as she blew past him, on her way to the upper level, "help me."

Her round coffee table had been thrown against the railing, and with his help they put it back into its normal, horizontal position. Chakotay found himself watching her again as she continued to work. Kathryn finally stopped and stood up straight, turning to face him when she questioned, "Are you just going to stand there and watch me?"

"Sure," he replied, his grin broad. "I could watch you work all day."

Feigning seriousness she stepped up to him, close enough that she could feel his breath on her face when she looked up. "It seems to me, Commander, that there are days that you have done nothing but watch me work."

He rested his hands on her shoulders, to test her and see if she would step away. "And just how would you know that if you were working?"

Kathryn reached up and held his cheek in her hand. "I'm just better at looking like I'm working than you are." Her eyes locked with his for a brief moment, before she turned out of his grasp and headed back down toward the desk.

Chakotay shook his head as he followed her down. "Anything broken?"

"Just this." She picked up the pieces of the teacup and turned around to show him, then sat back against the edge of the desk. "Everything else seems to be okay. You know Chakotay, the least you could have done was cleaned this place up before I got back."

His hands were clasped behind his back – his telltale, outward sign of apprehension. They hadn't really talked since falling asleep together in this room. When they finally did make their way down to Sickbay the Doctor ordered the captain to bed, and she had pretty much stayed there until arriving for her shift on the bridge that morning. He looked around the room, noticing that she had darkened the windows so that the outline of the cube's cavern could barely be seen now. And then she had started straightening up, rearranging items and trying to put order back into the chaos that had been thrown around the ready room.

Now he was waiting for her to drop the hammer.

He felt her eyes on him, and then realized that he had become lost in his own thoughts. She was waiting patiently, a slight smile on her lips when she softly called his name. "Sorry," he whispered. "What did you say?"

"I said that the least you could have done was clean this place up before I got back," she repeated.

He bowed his head a little as he stepped toward her. "Forgive me. I was a little preoccupied at the time." The teacup was still in her hands, forgotten as she watched him react to her comment. "Here. Let me make it up to you." He reached for the cup and took the pieces from her. She wordlessly handed them over, and he turned and headed out the door.

She watched him leave, momentarily lost. It felt like everything was happening so fast, and yet it was as slow a progression as one could ask for. As a matter of fact there was no progression at all, but there was a lot of discussion in their immediate future. For now, she busied herself with starting in on the stack of reports that were waiting in her console. Voyager had taken some serious damage in the last bout with the cube, and they all needed her individual attention.

Janeway sat back in the chair, padd in one hand and coffee cup in the other as she started to read. It was only about an hour into the engineering reports when her mind began to wander, and the memories of the cube returned. They had left her alone since her breakdown the day before – but recalling her dreams was always impossible after being medically sedated.

__

She was standing in the middle of a crowd of drones, working endlessly in repairing the shields that Voyager had just taken down in their last barrage. The voices filled her body, directing the fingers that tapped into the consoles in front of her. Then there was a direct order from the queen, and though her sound was of many, the Janeway drone knew it was from Her.

The order to die.

The drone could hear the queen's concern mixing with the voices, amplifying the damage that Voyager was inflicting on the cube they both were on. When the queen physically transferred herself to this vessel, she had reassigned the Janeway drone to Unimatrix Zero One, keeping her within distance at all times. So it was with great satisfaction that she watched as another drone followed its orders and injected Voyager's former captain with her death sentence. "You may have brought chaos to the Collective," the voices proclaimed, "but you will never live to see it."

A fire filled the drone's body, one that started to short-circuit the implants that had been so carefully installed only a few weeks before. As each ruptured and started to affect the biological matter around it, the drone started to scream. But as the drone's vocal cords had been enhanced, the voices screamed in the thousands.

Janeway jumped in her chair. The sharp recollection of assimilation tubules piercing her neck for the second time was enough to shock her back into the present. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she felt the sudden need to gulp down air. The experience left her shaking, her coffee cup long since dropped on the floor. Nervous eyes darted around the room, eventually settling on the faint lines that were still visible through the shaded windows.

Sitting there for a long while, she focused on regaining her composure. She refused to cry again. Then she activated her console and adjusted it to get the sensor feed that was being displayed on the bridge's main viewscreen. There was a slight green tinge to the stars that shot past, but the stars were there, flying past them at transwarp speed. Kathryn sighed, falling back into her chair as she let herself get absorbed in the stars.

Mizoti walked carefully between the rows of beds that had been set up in the cargo bay, each containing a former Borg drone. She wasn't supposed to be here – she knew that. But as usual, her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had tried to get Naomi to come with her, but Samantha Wildman was still exercising the parental right of grounding after the girls' last adventure together, so Naomi had things to do at home.

She examined each body in great detail, noticing scars where implants had been removed, identifying each species and cataloging them in her head. It was strange to see so many being converted back to their original organic state. It had always amazed her that former drones like herself, Icheb and Seven had managed to return to their individuality and make productive contributions to Voyager. At least it amazed her when she bothered to think about it. Most of the time she was too busy to anyway.

The young girl stopped at the bedside of a man who belonged to her own people. As she watched him, she was suddenly distracted by a bright flash of light on the other side of the cot. A tall man, looking distinctly human with his dark hair, was looking down at her with a superior attitude. "Well you're new around here, aren't you," he said, folding his arms over the Starfleet uniform that he wore.

She looked up at him with passive eyes and flatly said, "What is it you want, Q?"

He stopped short, her deep adolescent voice transcending time and memory. "You know, I have a friend back in the alpha quadrant who always asks in those exact words." He looked down at her again, then at the recovering drone between them. "Anybody you know?"

Mizoti shook her head. "No. But he is one of my species." 

Q crouched down beside her, taking a moment to examine the patient. "Are you going to return him to your homeworld when he has recovered?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Q shook his head. "Are you sure you've never met Jean-Luc?" She opened her mouth, but his hand raised to stop her. "Forget it. Collective knowledge, I know." Another flash of light signaled his departure, leaving Mizoti alone in the middle of the ward.

The holodeck doors slid open with their usual heavy sigh to admit a man in search of his friend. Chakotay found himself standing in a large, well appointed study and he took a few moments to get a good look of his new surroundings. The pale walls were accented with a variety of frames, and he walked over to examine the photographs in them. A few were filled with pictures of Starfleet officers from years before, still dressed in the drab maroon uniform of the time. One was a group of officers on the bridge of a ship, toasting what was probably a maiden flight.

Each frame presented a different variety of people and animals. There was a picture of a pair of young girls under ten years old – obviously a pair of siblings – and on closer inspection he confirmed that it was Kathryn and Phoebe Janeway. A side table ran underneath it, and beside the vase of flowers in the centre was a single frame that caught Chakotay by surprise. It was Voyager's senior staff, a copy of the photo that the Doctor had taken during the initial celebration of Ancestors Eve.

Bright sunlight streamed in through the east windows, and the sound of birds filtered in from the abundant trees a few feet beyond them. He continued to examine his way around the room, but the allure of nature, photonic as it was, was too enticing to pass up. It was a peaceful place, and he let his eyes slide closed as the sunlight warmed his skin. He stayed there until a small noise made him turn around.

She was folded neatly underneath the large cherry desk, her back tight against the panel that closed the space on the third side, and her knees pulled up to her chest. Blue eyes stared at him, but they were drowsy with fatigue. Chakotay crouched down in front of her, a bit of amusement flickering through his features. "I needed to find some comforting surroundings," she said in response to his unasked question. "Something that doesn't look like the inside of a cube."

He nodded slowly, then moved into the space she made by sliding as far to the right as she could. It was a tight fit, but they were both able to sit shoulder to shoulder within the space normally reserved for a pair of legs. Once both were settled he did ask her, "So where are we?"

"My father's study." Kathryn's head fell back against the wood behind her as her eyes slid shut. They sat in silence for a while, not really feeling a need to say anything at all. But they knew each other so well that the next question didn't even have to be spoken aloud. "I had a flashback this morning," she explained. "Spent the afternoon with Tuvok trying to work it out." Her eyes fell on the pocket of his shirt, which obviously held a secret. "Where'd you get lost today?"

He had forgotten that there had been a reason for his trip here. "I was on a mission," he told her softly. "Close your eyes."

"Chakotay..."

With a shake of his head he repeated, "Just close your eyes."

It took a few moments of silent convincing on his part, but she finally conceded to his wish. Once that was done, he reached for her hand and placed the object he had been hiding into it. He carefully wrapped her fingers around it and then whispered, "Okay."

Her eyes opened to see her restored teacup, turned upside down in her palm. On close inspection, there was hardly any indication that the handle had been snapped off. She turned it over, a tired smile gracing her features when she saw the fully bloomed rose that had been tucked inside. Her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply from it, and when she looked up again she couldn't help but grin at the expression on his face. "It's perfect, Chakotay. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He watched her place the cup on the floor beside her foot. "How are you doing?"

"I'm tired," she admitted, "but a little stronger. Working with Tuvok seems to be helping, and I'm remembering more."

By the look on her face he felt safe to offer, "But that's not necessarily a good thing, is it?"

Kathryn shook her head. "I would much rather just find a way to forget it all." She related the story of the flashback in the ready room just after he left, and how she had employed Tuvok's help in trying to order the bedlam that had threatened to consume her then and there. "I can still feel them," she said, absently tapping the area of her neck that had been pierced in the second attack. "And if I dwell on it long enough, I can even hear the voices again." Her eyes slid shut again, and she blew a breath out through pursed lips. "The whole thing gives me a permanent headache."

"The meld or being Borg?"

She shot him a stern look. Obviously this was going to be a touchy issue. There was a moment of palpable tension, and then she decided to change the subject. "Did you know that Tom finally proposed to B'Elanna?"

"Really?" He was surprised, not to mention a little baffled, that B'Elanna would tell the captain before him. He covered his annoyance by commenting, "I was beginning to think it was never going to happen."

"Well, she was waiting for him to ask – he had to be completely ready. And it ended up happening the same night Seven discovered Unimatrix Zero, so they never got a chance to tell anybody." She saw the look he fixed her with, and she softly explained, "The Collective... It's better than being a telepath." Chakotay was motionless, very uncertain of how to respond. "Relax," she told him. "It's okay to laugh."

A long stretch of silence was the only response she got. It took a long time, but he eventually made his own attempt at humor when he said, "I think I'm going to need a scorecard for this conversation." She gave him half a nod, then rested her head against the desk again. "You could have called me, you know."

Kathryn didn't look at him, but reached across to take his hand. "You've done so much already. I can't keep imposing on you."

He reached over and turned her face so he could see her eyes. "It's not an imposition, Kathryn. This isn't asking me to take your bridge shift or to talk to the crew for you. You were assimilated." She turned away as he kept speaking, his fingers gently running over the small circles that were still visible on her neck. "I can't begin to imagine what that's like. But I know that I'm not going to just sit here and let the experience tear you apart."

"You can't understand..."

"Let me try," he pressed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't push me away, Kathryn."

She gently removed his touch from her neck and directed the gesture back toward her friend. "I know you want to help ... but I don't know if you can."

Chakotay looked at her in disbelief. "Are you really willing to dismiss me that easily?" he carefully asked. She wasn't able to answer him, and without another word he climbed out from under the desk and exited the holodeck. Kathryn watched him leave, but it didn't have a real effect on her. She was once again overrun by the memories she was forced to relive that day. As she fought to maintain control over her mind, she looked to the limited amount of the study that she could see from her secluded place. The place that had been such a comfort when she was a child was turning out to be less of a comfort that she had hoped.

***

At Tom and B'Elanna's request, Neelix scheduled a party in the holodeck a week later to announce their engagement. As many of the crew that could be spared attended, and through a great amount of coaxing Chakotay even managed to get Kathryn there for at least a few hours. It wasn't easy though – her thoughts were firmly entrenched in the mind-numbing recollections of her time as a drone. It was obvious that she was still having difficulties working her way back to her normal life. But once convinced, she was determined to show everyone that she was absolutely fine. She was still oblivious to his hurt from their talk in her father's study, but he was doing his best to not let it show how much it bothered him.

At one point in the evening B'Elanna actually found herself without her fiancé, which allowed her to search through the crowd to replenish her drink. She saw Chakotay from her place at the bar, and once her glass was full she ordered another and then took it over to him. "You look like you could use this."

"Thanks." He took a small sip from the glass, then eyed it suspiciously. "What _is _this?"

"Beats me." She shrugged and took some more of it. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely different. "Probably Tom's idea."

He laughed for what felt like the first time in months. "I haven't had a chance to say congratulations yet. Though I'm sure that you could have done a lot better than Tom Paris."

She chuckled, recognizing an old pattern of banter that they hadn't strayed across in quite some time. "Well I couldn't wait all my life for you to make up your mind." After another sip covered her fidgeting with the waist of her dress, and she asked, "So how's she doing?"

Chakotay scanned through the crowd, eventually spotting the captain in what appeared to be a very lively conversation with Harry Kim and Sam Wildman among others. "I'm not sure, B'Ella."

On the other side of the room, Kathryn was deep in recounting a story from her academy days. It had managed to draw a small crowd to her, and she was thoroughly enjoying herself - without any previous worries or hauntings in mind. "So just as the admiral was getting to me," she recited, her hands talking animatedly in front of her body, "his aide came running up..."

The deck suddenly shuddered beneath their feet, not hard enough to send anyone flying but enough make a few stumble. Tuvok's calm voice came through the comm system and announced, _"All personnel return to stations, senior staff report to the bridge." _They all exchanged worried glances as the captain led the bridge crew out of the holodeck and to the nearest turbolift, while the majority of the remaining crew took off in the opposite direction.

The lift doors opened to admit the senior staff. She ordered, "Report," before her heel even hit the bridge deck.

"We are starting to experience hull destabilization," Tuvok informed her from his station, giving her a quick nod as she flew past him to take her chair.

"Pressure on the hull is increasing exponentially," Kim called out from his station.

"Any idea what's causing it?" she questioned, burying herself in the reports and sensor readings that were scrolling across her console. None of it was making any sense – they were simply hanging suspended in the cavern of the cube.

Torres interjected, "Captain, it looks like the hull is being dissolved."

Chakotay noticed that Seven's head snapped up as soon as Torres said _dissolved_. Janeway was still scanning through her readings, and without looking up asked, "Dissolved by what?"

"The forcefield.." Seven murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

The captain twisted around in her chair to look up at her. "The forcefield?" Seven was unaffected by the tone in Janeway's voice, working through the problem in her head as she refined and redirected the lateral sensor array. The ship shook again, harder than it had the first time. Even though she was trying hard to disguise the fact that her patience was short these days, it had already reached its end by the time they arrived on the bridge, and so Janeway barked, "Seven!"

Harry Kim had heard Seven's spoken thought, and had immediately started investigating the possibility. "She's right," he reported, sending the scan results to Janeway and Chakotay's console. "It looks like the forcefield is intentionally destabilizing the atoms in the hull. We're starting to lose integrity."

"Will getting us out of the docking field stop the destabilization?"

Tuvok interrupted, "I believe that the best course of action would be to exit the cube until we can determine a proper course of action."

__

No! her mind screamed. _We can't stop when we're this close to getting home!_ But cooler thinking, along with a third lurch of the ship, prevailed. This time the movement was enough to throw people around, including the captain - who got tangled up in the long length of her civilian dress as she tried to get up off the deck. "All stop. Mr. Paris, get us back into normal space," she ordered from the floor.

Cooler thinking may have prevailed, but it didn't disguise the frustration and disappointment in her voice. Paris nearly stopped to raise his eyebrows, but instead followed though on his order with a simple, "Yes ma'am," as Chakotay helped get her on her feet. 

The rapid shortening of her temper was not missed by anyone, and a tense silence settled over the bridge as they all watched the viewscreen switch back to the interior of the cavern. It took nearly five minutes for Voyager to make its way back out into normal space. "The hull appears stable," Kim reported once they were outside.

"No hull breaches imminent," Tuvok added.

Still standing in the middle of the command centre, Chakotay looked at his captain just in time to see a rise of anger through her. "Stand down red alert," she said, pausing before she turned around to face her bridge crew. "Seven?"

Even the Borg could recognize her precarious position with the captain now. Watching the bridge lighting switch back to normal gave her a chance to stall for time. "I believe that the docking forcefield was directly responsible," she said, clasping her hands behind her back. "It is designed to dissolve a ship's remaining components once it is stripped of its technology, and convert those components into energy which is then used to fuel key systems."

Janeway gaped at her, a slight shake of her head demonstrating her disbelief. Her first officer could feel the surge within her, and he could honestly say that he didn't blame her. He was feeling the same way. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it when she demanded, "Why didn't you mention this before?"

Now Seven looked uncomfortable. She had never been in a situation where she needed to give the response, "The thought never occurred to me."

"Never occurred to you?" Janeway stalked across the distance that separated them. "I can accept that coming from some first year cadet, but not from the one person who feels the need to constantly point out my own imperfection." It wasn't so much what she said, but the tone of her voice that stunned everybody into silence. "I will not allow this trip to be thwarted by the fact that _somebody _forgot an important detail like the possibility of being torn apart by the ship that's taking us home." She swallowed and said, "Now I want all of you to find a solution that will get us on our way again before somebody comes along and starts taking shots at us because they think we're Borg."

With that she stormed off into her ready room, leaving bewildered expressions in her wake. Chakotay recovered quickly, and he snapped at them, "You heard her. Get moving." Without waiting to see if they complied, he handed the bridge over to Tuvok and followed her into her ready room.

"Don't you knock?" she growled from the upper level, obviously on her way to the replicator.

In no mood for reasoning he questioned, "What the hell was that?"

Now he had her ire. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me."

Janeway turned her back on him, and into the air she ordered, "Computer, remove window shading." After an affirming series of beeps, the blackened windows lightened and allowed the newly discovered stars into the room.

He was not about to be put off. "I know that you're disappointed," he lectured, "but that's no reason to tear a strip out of Seven."

"She was negligent," she shot back.

"How do you know that? You weren't even conscious when we integrated the systems." He moved to join her on the upper level. "She could have just forgotten. She _is_ human, you know."

The captain defiantly folded her arms over her chest. "Since when do _you_ defend Seven of Nine?"

His hands rested on his hips in his own show of defiance. "I defend anybody on this ship that is being unfairly treated."

Not really in any mood for insolence she told him, "You're out of line, Commander."

She had tried to walk past him, but he caught her elbow and forced her to stay. "Oh no you don't."

"Chakotay..."

"You're not going to pull rank on me here," he said, undaunted. "Now I have been patient, and it's obvious that you want to work through your problems yourself. But you're not working it out, Kathryn, and you're letting it affect your job."

"There's nothing to work out!" she protested, wrenching her arm from his grip and moving to stare out the window again. "I'm fine."

This time his voice was enough to stop her, but she kept his back to him. "You're not fine. You refuse to let anybody but Tuvok help you, and you won't talk to me about it. How do you think the crew is going to function when their captain can't? We can't put up with this for another three months. And if it turns out that we can't use this cube to get home like we thought, I know that you _won't _be able to put up with it for another thirty years."

Her anger flashed, and she spun around with her finger pointing at him as she snarled, "Now you listen to me. I ..." Unfortunately, the finger was pointing to open air. He was gone. "Chakotay?" Scanning the room, he was nowhere to be found. "Chakotay!?" She was about to storm out onto the bridge after him, but something sparked in the back of her mind. There was no logical reason for it, but she thundered, "Q!"

A flash of light signaled his appearance, a cheery smile on his face. "Yes?"

"Where is he?" she demanded, not caring how angry she sounded.

"Who, Chuckles?" Q took a minute to look her over. "I say Kathy, it's nice to see you wearing something other than that dreary uniform."

Janeway stalked away from him, and on her way to her desk she mentioned, "You mean like yours?"

"Well what can I say? I like the classics." He snapped his fingers, and the uniform switched to a replicate set of the casual clothes that Chakotay had been wearing at the party. "What about this?" he asked, following her down to the desk.

She spared him a glance when she reached the chair behind the desk. "It doesn't suit you."

Q shook his head. "You Starfleet people have such knack for stating the obvious."

"Then get to the point," she countered.

"It's very simple. I've taken him away."

Janeway jumped out of her chair. "You _what_?"

He snapped his fingers and disappeared from the space in front of her desk, reappearing seated on the curved section of the couch. "I'm disappointed, Kathy. Usually Borg modifications enhance hearing, not hinder it."

She was ready to throttle him, but had presence of mind enough to stay in the lower section of the ready room. Her teeth clenched together as she warned, "Q..."

They were interrupted by the doors opening and B'Elanna Torres rushing in. "Captain, Tom just..." She stopped short when she noticed the figure seated on the other side of the room, and her teeth ground together to match her growl. "You!"

"B'Ella!" he greeted cheerfully, extending his arms for a hug.

Janeway laid an arm out across the engineer's shoulders, stopping her before she could charge him. "B'Elanna..."

The sound of the captain's voice was enough to plant her feet in place. She may have stopped moving, but her anger was still full force. "He made Tom disappear!"

Janeway turned to glare at her adversary, but still held Torres in place. "Q?"

"She's right," he replied cheerfully. "I took them both."

"Why the hell did you do that?" Torres spat.

"It's simple." He settled back into the cushions and folded his fingers together in front of him, much in the way that Tuvok usually did. "You're not worthy of them."

Now he had both women's undivided attention. Together they mumbled a stunned, "What?"

"You heard me." He grinned at the captain's reaction. "Oh relax, Kathy. I haven't hurt the big oaf."

The captain fixed him with a cold glare. "Just once I wish you would use a person's proper name."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Oh very well. I've temporarily relocated Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris."

"To where?" Torres questioned.

His hands folded neatly into his lap. "Why Lieutenant, that would be telling."

"Why?" she questioned. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I can." He grinned when he saw Janeway's expression. "Oh don't look at me like that, Kathryn. I'm not one of your insipid, undereducated crew." His gaze flicked over to Torres to mock her, but then settled again on the captain. "The very simple fact of the matter is that it isn't time for you two. Not yet anyway." Kathryn started to protest, but he lifted a finger to cut her off. Then he patted the cushion beside him, and waited patiently until she reluctantly gave in and sat down, putting as much distance between them as possible. Q added, "You'll just have to trust me."

Torres remained at the step. "So just what does all this have to do with my fiancé?"

"I've sent him to protect Chakotay."

The chief engineer folded her arms across her chest, a wry smile lighting her face. "The last person in the world that needs a bodyguard is Chakotay." She chanced a glance at Janeway, who only let the slightest sign of her own grin show before she clamped it down and controlled it.

This did not go unnoticed by Q, but he decided to ignore it. "Take my advice, Kathy. Get on with your life. You're obviously not ready." And with that he disappeared.

B'Elanna stared at the spot where he had been, then shifted her focus to her captain. Janeway sat there, her hand rubbing at suddenly tired eyes. "What did he mean by that?" she asked carefully, hoping that in light of the captains' recent mood, that she wouldn't be treading in dangerous territory.

"It's a long story," was her response, along with a slight shake of her head. The other woman's eyes lifted from her fingers. "Sorry to interrupt your party."

"It's okay." Torres felt an instinctive need to comfort the woman who she now shared a unique bond with, not to mention the need for some comfort herself. Even after being disengaged from the Collective, they retained more knowledge of the other than they could have learned in a normal lifetime. So she walked over to the replicator and called up coffee, and then handed a cup to the captain as she sat down. "Tell me about it?"

Kathryn thought about it. Chakotay had offered his ear so many times in the last two weeks, and she had turned him down every time. As she looked at B'Elanna, she saw the years of friendship between them that had been wasted because they simply just hadn't gotten around to it. And her self-imposed necessity for distance from her crew hadn't helped any. She knew that they should both be working at solving the hull instability problem, but Kathryn had finally reached the point of being unable to deny the need of opening up to somebody. So the two of them ended up talking together for endless hours, stopping only when sleep threatened to overtake them both.

***

A flash of light in the middle of the room instantly drew everyone's attention away from Admiral Harris' droning speech about the Cardassia occupation. When the light subsided, a stunned pair of officers, dressed in black and wine colored uniforms, slowly took in their new surroundings. "What the..." The words escaped the older man's lips before he even realized it.

The pair of them looked down from their new perch atop the conference room table to discover a full panel of Starfleet admirals staring back at them. Sunlight poured through the windows on the east side of the room, highlighting their silhouettes and casting long shadows on the opposite wall. It was early morning, and more than a few of the top brass were convinced that they were still asleep.

Tom gawked at his new surroundings, but a faint, familiar voice pulled him around in the other direction. His father had gotten up on shaking legs, and was staring open-mouthed at the new arrivals. "Dad?" he gasped, stepping to the edge of the table and crouching down to look the older man in the eye.

***

__

Captain's Personal Log: Stardate 53217.9

Three days have passed since Tom and Chakotay's disappearance. Q has not reappeared since he took them, and our scans have not revealed anything. And until we hear from him again, I don't think that there's anything we can do to locate them.

Nightmares seem to be turning into the norm for me, and my temper has definitely become worse as a result. I know that I have to find a way to get through this and become Kathryn again, but I'm finding it so difficult. This is definitely one of the times I wish my father was here.

The only positive thing that seems to have come out of this latest experience is that B'Elanna and I have developed the beginnings of the friendship that we should have started a long time ago. I never realized how much I missed having a close friend – or at least one that isn't in love with me. Mark, Justin, Chakotay ... they all had the same distinct problem. I couldn't talk to them about them. I miss Chakotay, and I know she misses Tom. I only hope that we'll be able to find them soon.

The meeting was taking place in Engineering, where Voyager's top two miracle workers had managed to solve the question of the cube's forcefield problem. Janeway strode in through the main doors, coffee in hand, and made a concerted effort to remain positive as she addressed them. "You have news?"

"It's not going to be easy," Carey said, "but the only way Voyager can sit inside that cube is to be suspended in the cavern. There's nothing to land her on, and even if there were there's not enough gravity to hold us in place."

The captain prompted, "You said you had a solution."

Torres nodded and made her way over to a nearby console. "We're going to have to coat Voyager with an exoskeleton. Enough material to keep the ship intact until we can find a way to disable the disintegration properties of the forcefields."

"An exoskeleton will be weeks of work," Janeway said as she reviewed the information. "Any estimate on how long disabling the forcefield will take?"

The two engineers exchanged glances. "We're guessing at anywhere between six weeks and two months."

Janeway nodded, her expression stoic. "Get a team on it. In the meantime, we're going to have to find a planet to collect the materials for the exoskeleton. Janeway to bridge."

__

"Kim here, Captain."

"Harry, B'Elanna is going to send you a list of materials. Start scanning for any planets that have what we're looking for. As soon as you find something, take both Voyager and the cube into warp. I'll be on the bridge shortly."

__

"Aye Captain. Kim out."

"I'll get the deactivation team together for briefing," Carey said, quickly disappearing into the upper level of Engineering.

"Any ideas of how we're actually going to assemble this exoskeleton?" the captain asked as she started heading back toward the main doors.

"The best way is going to be to adhere the materials to our shields," B'Elanna said, quickly falling into step with her. "The shields will take a beating, but it should protect us in the long run."

__

"Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway."

The captain was not quite able to stop the roll of her eyes. "Janeway here."

__

"Captain, we're detecting Starfleet's monthly data stream."

"Acknowledged."

Once the comm line was closed, B'Elanna couldn't help but quietly inquire, "Did you ever go talk to her?"

"No. I keep meaning to, but..." She shrugged, giving a half grin when she saw the admonishing look that Torres was giving to her. "Let me know if you need any help," she said just as she left.

"Aye captain."

***

__

"Seven of Nine to the bridge."

Janeway sighed, which she thought was an odd reaction to the sound of the disembodied voice breaking the monotonous silence that had taken over the bridge for the past few hours. "Janeway here," she answered, her eyes never leaving the padd in her hand.

__

"The receipt of the data stream is complete."

"Very well. Start file distribution immediately."

__

"Acknowledged."

Kathryn stared at the viewscreen for a while, just watching the stars pass by as Voyager and the cube raced toward their new target. It looked strange not to have the green tinge of the transwarp conduit. A soft beep at her elbow let her know that all the files in the data stream that had been addressed to her were now sorted and waiting in her personal database. Her eyes floated back to the viewscreen for a few seconds more, then with pointed words she announced, "You have the bridge, Tuvok."

"Aye Captain," he responded, an eyebrow lifting slightly as he watched her pass his station and disappear into the ready room.

Another sigh filled the ready room as soon as the doors closed behind her, and Janeway absently rubbed at the back of her neck as she made her way over to the replicator for coffee. Once ensconced at her desk, she pulled up all the files on her terminal. There were a number of files containing news from home, which had been sent to all crew members. There were also letters from her mother and sister, as well as a couple from friends she had made during her time at the academy. Then there were the official communiqués from Starfleet. In the mix she spotted one from Admiral Hayes, and her brow furrowed as soon as she saw it. _What does he want now?_ she thought grimly, forcing herself to access the file. It would probably be best to get him out of the way first.

The screen changed to a Federation emblem, which was then replaced by the admiral at his desk, just as it had been the last time. It was a pretentious setting, with flags on either side of him and a smug, holier-than-thou expression on his face – all designed to exude an unarguable air of authority with whomever he was addressing. She could remember seeing that same look, though to a much lesser degree, in her father's messages to her near the end of his life. If they ever got home, despite the predisposition that came with the rank she reminded herself that she would never put on airs like that if given the chance.

The shifting numbers of the time index at the bottom of the screen snapped her back to the matter at hand, and she called for the computer to start the transmission again. This time she paid attention as he began his address. _"Hello Captain. It was wonderful to get your last message, and to know that transmitting through the Midas Array is now a viable option for you. I hope that you and your crew are well, and we are counting down the days until you return to the alpha quadrant."_

Her coffee cup hit the desk with a bang, her eyes wide as she continued to listen. _"We know that you have been able to commandeer a Borg cube and that you are using its transwarp technology to get home."_

Janeway stabbed at the button on the console and froze the image, gaping at the admiral's motionless face. Then she tapped her commbadge. "Janeway to Torres."

__

"Torres here," came an immediate reply.

"B'Elanna, I need you to come to my ready room right away."

__

"On my way."

__

"You will have to make sure that you make subspace contact with the border patrols as soon as you're in range," the admiral continued after she reactivated him, _"otherwise they will immediately open fire."_ He paused, letting her see a smile. _"I suppose you're wondering how we know all this."_

"Q," she murmured, once again finding her coffee cup. The door chime rang. "Come in."

Lieutenant Torres stepped inside and headed right for the desk. Since she already knew about the data stream, she imagined that whatever had caused the captain to summon her was going to be very important. "You wanted to see me, Captain?"

Janeway sat back in her chair, clutching her silver mug close to her stomach. "You'd better have a seat." She waited until the other woman was settled, then the captain spun the terminal part of the way around so that they could both watch it.

__

"I don't know if you're aware of this, but your first officer and helmsman appeared in the middle of a conference at Starfleet Command two weeks ago. I mean literally in the middle of a conference – they materialized on top of the table." Both women glanced to each other, and B'Elanna couldn't quite hide her smirk. The idea of their missing men appearing on top of a conference table was almost too good for words. But the droning of the admiral's speech pulled them back to the screen. _"They were immediately taken into custody."_

B'Elanna looked to her captain again, seeing that her expression was one of stone. But her eyes shimmered a little, betraying the cold exterior that Janeway was trying to convey. Torres' thoughts were in a whirl, and she was relieved to know where Tom was. And she could almost hear the rant he would be on right now about being back in prison after all these years.

__

"Captain, it is imperative that you include Paris and Chakotay's updated service records in your next data stream. We want to make sure that they will be properly defended at their hearing, which will be scheduled as soon as their attorneys have reviewed what you've sent. Hopefully we will have better news for you the next time we speak. Let us know what your ETA is on reaching Earth. See you soon."

Janeway stabbed at the activation button, scowling at the now blank screen. The silence hung in the room, one mixed with relief and a great deal of frustration. "At least we know they're safe," Torres ventured. "It's one less nightmare I'll have tonight."

The other settled back into her chair, letting a sigh escape as her head hit the padded rest. "But how safe would they be in prison?" Her eyes slid shut. "Damn Q anyway."

"Really Kathy, such language."

Both women whirled around and discovered Q sitting on the sofa, in the same place that he had been the last time. B'Elanna felt her anger rising, but it was tempered by the calm, if not exhausted tone of the captain sitting on the other side of the desk. With her eyes still closed, Janeway's voice was barely more than a mumble when she declared, "This is my ready room Q, and I am king here. Understood?" She looked over to him in time to see his silent nod. Their eyes locked, and she said, "Would you excuse us, B'Elanna."

She really didn't want to, but Torres knew better than to deny her friend the request. "Of course," she responded as she headed for the door. But just before she would have left, she turned around and shot a pointed look at Q when she told Janeway, "Good luck."

Kathryn was beyond anger, but some sadistic little side of her made her wait until the doors were closed. It was probably a good thing to keep the crew thinking that she had some fight left. But fatigue permeated every part of her body, and it was slow in responding when she made it get up and walk over to the step and the end of the railing. "So just what do you want?" she tried.

"I want to give you the homecoming you deserve. You know as well as I do that Starfleet would have arrested him as soon as you pulled into orbit. So I've just accelerated the process."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning," he said, adopting the tone of a parent to a misbehaving child, "that his sentence will be carried out in full by the time you get back. Then you won't have to worry about jail time. Well not his anyway."

Her fingers absently scratched at the surface of the railing. "Why have you taken such an interest in all this?"

"Because I owe you." Almost as an afterthought he added, "And you helped end the Continuum's civil war." 

He disappeared again, leaving Janeway alone in the room and she sighed, "That's great. That's just great."

***

Dear Tom,

I cannot believe that of all places, Q deposited you in the middle of an admirals' conference. I'm really beginning to think that guy has a twisted sense of humor. I'd have paid to see it.

Thank god you're safe at least. Though I hear the prison food there stinks.

I have to make this short, but Harry is trying to find a transwarp frequency that will let us communicate directly with Earth. If we can get it to work, we'll talk then. If not we'll have to wait a few months. But nothing we can't handle, right?

I love you.

B'Ella

P.S. - Keep an eye on Chakotay. Kathryn is really worried about him.

Tom looked up over the edge of the padd, seeing that Chakotay was completely engrossed in his own reading. The padds had been delivered to them first thing in the morning, a surprising gift to two convicts. He thought back to the last line of his fiancée's letter, and he wished he knew just what was going on back on Voyager. And how many replicator rations he had just lost.

For his part, Chakotay was reading his letter with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Then again, these days he really wasn't sure of what to expect anymore. So he read:

__

Dear Chakotay,

Where do I start?

As you've already probably guessed, Q has separated us in some ridiculous attempt to show us the errors of our relationship ways. And he seems absolutely adamant about maintaining a position of non-interference now that he has sent you to Earth.

Well, you said you wanted to see the sun rise over the Arizona desert, right?

It looks like the solution to the disintegration problem is to create an exoskeleton for the cube to absorb instead of Voyager. If it works, we could be back on the road in three or four weeks. It feels like forever, and I'm so sorry that the last words we had for each other were heated. I miss you more than I can describe, like my right arm has been cut off.

Hey ... maybe there is something to Q's plan after all.

Love,

Kathryn

__

P.S. -Make sure that Tom doesn't do anything to get in more trouble than he already is. B'Ella will kill him when we reach Earth.

Chakotay chuckled to himself, reading her brief correspondence a couple of times again. It had the same effect as her message to him after she was assimilated, and bolstered his sagging outlook on the situation. He noted that she had called Torres _B'Ella_. Maybe she had finally let her guard down and let someone take her into their confidence.

The guard outside the holding cell snapped to attention, the slight shift of his phaser in its holder drawing the attention of the two occupants. Both men looked up from the padds just in time to see a woman giving orders to the one man security detail. Her eyes watched Chakotay and Paris getting to their feet while she talked to the guard. Then she stood and regarded the pair through the forcefield, her hands firmly on her hips. "Commander Chakotay, Lieutenant Paris ... could I have a moment of your time?"

The pair exchanged glances – no one had addressed them by their ranks since their arrival. Chakotay slowly nodded his agreement and she nodded to the guard, who deactivated the forcefield. But she did not join them inside the cell. Instead she took a step back and said, "Walk with me, gentlemen."

Paris stared at her for a moment, but Chakotay walked out as soon as she offered. Tom knew that being locked down in this cell for almost a week was getting to him, so he was obviously grateful for the respite. He quickly fell in step behind Chakotay, who was side by side with the mysterious young woman. All three remained silent until they made it outside, into the middle of a glorious day of San Francisco sun.

She quickly steered them into the vast parkland that made up a great deal of the grounds, not to mention the groundskeeper's ego. "I hope that you haven't been made too uncomfortable," she finally said, slowing her pace once her boots touched the grass and allowing both men to flank her. "It is unfortunate that someone felt the need to incarcerate you as soon as you arrived."

"Well we appreciate the walk in the exercise yard," Paris quipped, feeling secure and a little cocky in his attitude toward her.

"Don't let Boothby hear you say that," she retorted with a glint in her eye. "You'll be doing time for sure." She gestured toward a pair of stone benches that sat on the edge of a large field, which at the moment held a couple of different formations of cadets that had been treated to an outdoor session of calisthenics. The two men sat on one bench while she seated herself on the opposite, on the end nearest them, and extended her hand. "Commander Anna MacCalister." As she shook hands with each of them, she couldn't help but smile. "It's an honor to meet you both. Your reputation precedes you."

Her easygoing nature was infection. Chakotay looked at Paris out of the corner of his eye. "I told you your jokes would catch up to you one day." To the commander he said, "I didn't think that the accomplishments of a couple of Maquis renegades would still be banging around Starfleet Command."

"Not at all." She settled back, crossing one knee over the other and resting her elbows on her thigh as she leant forward to speak. "I was referring to your service records aboard Voyager. We received them yesterday, along with your letters." The shock that had filled the men's faces when she mentioned their records disappeared as soon as she brought up the letters. "I must say that Captain Janeway is very impressed with your work. And frankly, so am I."

The shocked look returned. "Not everyone around here believes that you should be locked up," she explained. "Some of us still have a conscience. As a matter of fact, Starfleet is willing to drop all charges ... and we'd like to ask you to stay with us."

"I beg your pardon?" Chakotay gasped, not trusting his ears.

MacCalister grinned. "I understand that this is all a little much. Let me back up a bit. The Federation started preparing for war two years after Voyager disappeared, but conflicting agendas constituted a lot of inaction on our part. By the time that hostilities actually began, we were caught with our guard down, moreso than anyone really realized. You know that the Maquis were wiped out by the Dominion, and I'm sure that you also know that the Founders tried to destroy Cardassia rather than let it fall into enemy hands."

Paris was edgy, and he questioned, "What has all this got to do with us?"

Chakotay had been listening intently. "Let her finish, Tom."

She looked from one to the other, the drop in her voice indicating the seriousness of the situation. "The current rumor is that there is a resistance movement developing in the former demilitarized zone, but we can't say who they want to resist. There are no Cardassian forces left, and with the Federation occupying Cardassia and the Dominion gone back to the gamma quadrant, it just doesn't make any sense. But we are assembling a team to investigate." She paused slightly before adding, "We want your expertise."

Now she waited for a response. Paris did not disappoint. "What expertise? We've been in the delta quadrant for the last seven years."

"You are one of the best pilots that Starfleet has ever produced," she told him, her warmth never leaving her as she stated facts. "This mission is of a covert nature, and as I am assembling the team it is my responsibility to get the best people for the job. And that's you." She waited a while to let that sink in. But there was one unasked question. "The fact of the matter is that we don't trust any of the Maquis that are currently in prison. And more to the point, they don't trust us. Your service to Captain Janeway is more than enough proof of your loyalty to her, and in turn to the Federation."

Chakotay rubbed absently at his chin, lost in thought just for a second. "So basically this is a test." Then he looked up at her, a slight look of amusement on his face. "You're very good at this game."

Her head bowed a little when she laughed. "_The Bureaucratic Wonder Child_. That's what the press called me when I first started making waves with the Federation council." She looked up at him. "It was simply absolutely unheard of for a mere ensign to be asked to advise the Council."

"I think I read something about you," Chakotay replied, putting the face with the name. "MacCalister. Made Commander faster than anyone in fleet history."

She nodded. "The one and only." Her smile faded, replaced by a professional demeanor that betrayed her real age as she started to pace. She could have fit in with any board of admirals, with her hands behind her back and her traveling area confined to a small circle. "Your choices are these, gentlemen. If you decide to cooperate with us, you will be fully reinstated with your current ranks intact. Once this mission is completed, you will be put back into regular duty postings should you wish to stay."

"And if we refuse..." Paris prompted.

"Well, then Starfleet will honor its original agreement with you, and you will be free to go." MacCalister's attention shifted to the other man. "Unfortunately, Commander Chakotay will be court-martialed and most likely given a ten year sentence for treason."

"It seems unlikely that anybody would be willing to help us when Admiral Hayes is so obviously willing to incarcerate," Chakotay commented, peering across the field as he said it. Then he stared back up at her. "And I suppose your motives here are purely philanthropic."

"Nope." The young woman stopped, following the formation on the field that was now running off toward the barracks. "One of my motives is absolutely selfish." She turned around to face them. "You see, I am Captain Janeway's niece."

Chakotay's eyes squinted as he regarded her, while Paris' wandering attention snapped back to the matter at hand. He said, "There is no way that you're her niece."

"Her sister married my father five years ago." MacCalister's ever-present grin returned. "Funny how family works, huh?" Her hands clasped together loosely at her waist and she informed, "You have until 0900 Wednesday morning to inform me of your decision. Until then you are free to roam, as long as you stay in San Francisco. If you want to talk to me, you can contact me through Admiral Grier's office." She gave them a short nod, then headed back in the direction of the headquarters building.

Paris looked to his companion, who still seemed to be deep in thought. "What do you think?"

Chakotay straightened his spine, drawing a deep breath into his lungs. "I think you got a better deal than I did." Paris chuckled, and Chakotay said, "I don't really see what choice I have." 

***

"The relay from the cube is up and functioning," Ensign Kim reported, unable to keep the non-professional grin off his face. "We're ready."

"Very well," Janeway responded, rising to step up to the front of the command centre. "Open a transwarp channel. Target the same coordinates from which the communication through the micro-wormhole originated."

Tuvok announced, "Channel open."

She swallowed, licking her lips before she hailed, "Starfleet Command, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the U.S.S. Voyager. Please respond."

The reply was almost immediate, though the picture was tinged in green – just as it had been when the Borg Queen had contacted them two months before. A somewhat haggard looking lieutenant was manning this particular channel, and his eyes widened at the sight of the woman who had practically become a Starfleet legend despite her absence. _"Captain Janeway? Voyager? Is that really you?"_

"It is," she confirmed, watching with some interest as he waived someone over and whispered an order into the blonde woman's ear. "To whom do I have the pleasure?"

__

"Lieutenant Reginald Barclay."

Janeway smiled, the first genuine smile in what seemed like ages. "Well it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Barclay."

__

"And – and you as well, Captain." True to form, he stammered over his words when nerves momentarily got hold of him. _"My assistant is just getting someone for you to talk to."_

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well as much as I appreciate it, I'm glad we're getting to talk. We're all very grateful for your diligence with the Pathfinder Project."

Though it was hard to tell through the unclear transmission, the entire bridge crew did not miss the blush that crept into his cheeks. Then a message flashed across his terminal beside the screen, and he said, _"They're ready for you now." _And without another word, the screen reverted to a Federation logo on black.

Janeway exchanged glances with Torres, who simply shrugged and said, "Well he's just a little nervous."

The captain nodded, but the viewscreen activated before she could agree. There were no less than seven different admirals staring back at them, the full compliment of the fleet's upper echelon. The head of Starfleet Command sat in the centre of them all, wearing the typical authoritative stance of brass. _"It's good to see you, Captain," _Nacheyev stated calmly.

"Thank you, Sir." Voyager's captain surveyed the admiralty before her. Grier, Hayes, Connolly, Paris, Bullard and T'Mari filled the rest of the picture, playing a full range of emotions among them. But the two main women of the communication filled only a few minutes of small talk before the captain requested, "Would it be possible to speak with Commander Chakotay or Lieutenant Paris?"

__

"I'm afraid not," Nacheyev told them, but said nothing more.

Janeway could tell that she had hit a sore spot, noticing that Hayes was particularly discontented. "May I ask why, Admiral?"

__

"Chakotay and Paris have been recruited for an assignment," came the unexpected answer. _"It is of a highly classified nature. I'm afraid I cannot tell you any more than that."_

A feeling of dread settled over the bridge, and the communication quickly ended after that. Everyone knew that 'highly classified' was code for extremely dangerous. As Janeway sank into her chair the only thought that occupied her mind was, _Damn you, Q._

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   [1]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/files/The_End_of_Unimatrix_Zero.htm
   [2]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/story.html



	3. Thrown Amidst Chaos

Thrown Amidst Chaos

(The sequel to [As Promised...][1], which is the sequel to [The End of Unimatrix Zero][2])

by Eydie Munroe

December 2000

Disclaimer:Paramount, Paramount, Paramount ...

Can't we talk about something else for a change?

Note: This story takes place between the episodes _Unimatrix Zero II_ and _Drive._ It completely precludes _Imperfection_, which is ironic because I actually liked that one.

Please send comments and feedback to [eydiemunroe@hotmail.com][3]

When Kathryn awoke the next morning, an odd sense of calm filled her. There had been no nightmare to startle her in the middle of sleep, and the only thing that she retained was the wonderful residual sense of happiness. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't about to dismiss it when she reflected on how irritable she had been the last two weeks.

The trip to the replicator for coffee was instinctual, so much so that she hardly even realized she was doing it anymore. When the cup was in her hand she turned around and stared out into the length of her quarters. They weren't typical starship quarters – a design like this was a singular entity on any ship. The captain's quarters. A large, deceptive mix of living room and working space, which was much like a captain's life itself. And being holed up here for nearly seven years gave this room's occupant license to dress it any way she felt. Kathryn was never much in the way of materialistic pursuits, but she did keep the things that were dearest to her out where she could see them.

There had been very few things that she had actually taken the time to remove from her house to Voyager before they left Earth. Pictures were the most abundant, particularly of her family, Mark and Molly. As the years wore on, the pictures of Mark had been replaced by pictures of diplomats and her crew, taken at various functions throughout their trip. There was even a picture that Phoebe had sent from her wedding, complete with her newly adopted family.

Another copy of the photo that had been in the holodeck study sat on the shelf behind her desk, and she went over to take a good look at it. She was seated on the small table that accompanied the couch in the mess hall, with Neelix next to her. The others were lined up behind them – Harry and Chakotay holding their champagne glasses, Seven with her hands clasped behind her back as she always did. The only exception to the otherwise stalwart pose was Tom and B'Elanna, who were demonstrating the loving relationship that they had.

Then she sat down at her desk and called up the series of pictures that she kept in her personal database. As she scrolled through them, she saw herself posing with a lot of her crew, as singles or in pairs. But it suddenly dawned on her that there were no pictures of her with Chakotay, unless there were other people with them. And those people were usually separating them. In the back of her mind she wondered how they had ever let that happen when it seemed she had time to pose with almost anyone else. She looked around her quarters again, noting to herself that there were none there either. Kathryn sighed as she sank back into the chair. She would have to rectify the situation – if she ever saw him again.

The conversation with Nacheyev played over again in her mind, and Kathryn wondered what particular set of circumstances would persuade Starfleet Command to utilize two men that they had felt the need to arrest on sight. Something just didn't add up. Then she remembered something that B'Elanna had said – _at least we know they're safe_ – safe being a relative term. It could have worried Kathryn if she'd let it, but she was working so hard on her own recovery that she didn't give it a lot of thought. Which was not to say that she didn't think about him – she did almost constantly. But she had finally progressed enough that she was able to give herself the luxury of professional detachment.

The passing stars beckoned her to the window, entrancing her as they always did. This was not going to be an easy day. Janeway had been carefully considering the options of what to do with the bodies of the more than six thousand drones that still filled the cube. There were so many species, and through her collective knowledge she could not only identify them all but also recite their particular burial rituals. But the effort to follow the specific sacrament of each person would take them nearly a year. So after much deliberation, she decided that the best course of action would be to simply beam them into space and disburse their atoms so that no piece of Borg technology would be left for passers-by to glean. And a simple ceremony would ensure that their burial would be dignified – at least to her standards. But she also thought that her most spiritual friend would approve.

Her hand reached out to touch the stars as she silently told him, _God, I miss you._

On the other side of the galaxy, the subject of her musing was doing much of the same. He stared out the window of his new quarters, trying to combat his loneliness and failing miserably. They had never been separated for more than a week or two at a time, which was not entirely painful in itself. But Chakotay being Chakotay, he was trying to accept the possibility that he might never see Kathryn again – and it was killing him.

The doors to the corridor slid open, reminding him that he wasn't the only one that was slated to sleep in the room. It was late, and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Tom Paris for hours. Without leaving the window he said, "It's about time you turned up."

"I didn't know you cared."

He turned, following the voice until he discovered Commander MacCalister standing a few steps inside. "Sorry," he grinned, "I thought you were Tom Paris."

"Thankfully not," she replied, her hands clasping together at her waist as she laughed. "He's a nice guy, but I just don't see what the appeal is." She could see that he didn't understand what she was getting at, so she added, "Female cadets walk out of my warp history class with stars in their eyes. It's not every day they study a living legend."

"You teach at the academy?" he asked, gesturing for her to sit down.

MacCalister nodded as she perched herself on the edge of one of the nearby chairs. "I started a few months after the war ended. First through fourth year Federation history and I'm also the head administrator for first year cadets."

"That's quite the workload," Chakotay marveled, sitting down on the other side of the table.

"Well there's plenty of time to sleep when you're dead." Her tone changed to one much like she had used the day they all met. "I must say that I was surprised when you agreed to this mission. I was expecting you to accept the prison sentence instead."

His eyebrows raised a little. "Really?"

She nodded. "Captain Janeway has described you as a peaceful man, one that tries to avoid conflict whenever possible." When she saw his questioning look, she couldn't help but smile a bit. "My security clearance gives me access to all of the records from Voyager."

Chakotay regarded her for a minute, then finally asked, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."

The flush of embarrassment that colored her cheeks surprised him. He said, "You must be something."

MacCalister laughed, erasing her momentary tension. "So I've been told."

He grinned, glad that she was loosening up a bit. "Nobody makes lieutenant-commander by your age, let alone a full commander. How did you do it?"

"I don't know. Guess I wasn't afraid to offer an opinion, got noticed by the right people ... I can't really say." She thought for a moment. "It's a lot less interesting than saying I slept my way to the top, isn't it?" He chuckled, and she pulled a data chip from the pocket over the left breast of her shirt. "This is all of the official background information that Starfleet Command has approved for you and Paris. I expect you to be familiar with it by morning."

She was about to leave without another word, but he caught her when he questioned, "And the unofficial version?"

It took her a moment, to decide whether she could trust him that much or not. But eventually MacCalister turned around, and stepped all the way back over to him before she leaned down and quietly said, "We've been sent by the Council itself to discover which members of Starfleet are backing the new resistance movement. There's a power struggle going on – a lot of people opposed Nacheyev's promotion to fleet commander. And the president thinks that this could be a means to discredit her. But I have to confirm my suspicions before we can take any action, so this mission is strictly reconnaissance." She reached into the opposite pocket and produced another data chip, announcing, "The unofficial version."

Chakotay nodded, and this time she did leave, saying hello to Tom Paris as they passed at the doorway. He came in and asked, "What's up?"

"I think we've just been thrown into something very dirty," the other said, rising in order to pace the short length of the room. "There's so many agendas flying around that I really don't know who to trust."

"Me either," Paris agreed. "Every admiral seems to suspect the other. I'm surprised that anything gets accomplished by that group at all." Chakotay stopped to silently question him, and the pilot added, "My father gave me an update before we left, and a lot of warnings and speculation as to who it could be."

"Nacheyev did the same thing. She thinks that it's Connelly."

Tom nodded. "Dad thinks it might be Bullard, or some of her underlings."

Chakotay resumed his pacing as he worked the situation in his head. "Something doesn't add up. Why would a Starfleet admiral start secretly supporting a guerrilla faction that really has no reason to exist? There's nothing left to fight."

"And why would a young, very prominent Starfleet commander be given the covert mission to discover the backer?" the other added.

"She simply sees it as an assignment from the Council."

Paris folded his arms across his chest. "She's not seriously that naive."

Chakotay shook his head, his gaze heading back through the window. "I hope not, Tom."

***

"All stop," Voyager's new first officer ordered.

Just as Ensign Mulligan brought the ship out of warp, the captain stepped out of the turbolift. "Report."

"We have reached the moon's coordinates," Tuvok responded, vacating the captain's seat and moving to the tactical station.

"Good." She took her seat and called, "Bridge to Engineering."

__

"Torres here."

"B'Elanna, we've reached our hiding place. Get started on securing the cube into orbit."

__

"We're on it, Captain."

"Let Ensign Mulligan know as soon as you're finished. I'm eager to get working on that exoskeleton."

__

"It will be done before you know it. Torres out."

***

With Tom Paris' skillful attention, the small, junky freighter _Mariana _set down just on the outskirts of a village known as _Home Base_ to all who lived there, with about as much grace as a puppy sliding out of control across a hardwood floor. A group of a dozen residents stood just outside the area that was being kicked up by the freighter's engines, their leader at the head of the pack. He was a tall, lanky man with barely existent brown hair, and an agenda on his mind. His scowl was quickly covered when the hatch opened, and the three undercover Starfleet officers stepped out.

The woman had a no-nonsense air about her, taking only the briefest of moments to examine her new surroundings before striding over to the group. "I want to talk to whoever is in charge," she said, giving the distinct impression that she would not take no for an answer.

"That would be me," the man said, stepping forward in confrontational mode. "What do you want?"

"We need repairs," she lied smoothly, gesturing back toward the freighter, where Chakotay and Paris were making a show of arguing over what exactly was wrong with the ship. "There's a problem with our primary power grid. Everything's gone dead."

"I'm afraid we won't be much help," he told her. "We don't keep a lot of spare parts around here."

"Well what exactly _can_ you do for us?"

Her persistence was unnerving, if not somewhat naïve. But he was an experienced liar, and was not easily thrown. "Look lady, we don't just stop on this world because somebody decides that we have to."

"Not even somebody with latinum that she's willing to part with?"

His head cocked to the side. "How much latinum are we talking about?"

MacCalister grinned and extended her hand. "Joanne Anderson."

"Ian Teramore."

In a few minutes they were all moving toward the centre of the village, where the newly arrived trio were to be offered a meal and a chance to have on-world engineers take a look at their vessel. The group walked through the narrow stone streets, MacCalister flanked by Teramore and Chakotay, and Paris slightly behind as he spoke with another pilot who was grilling him with questions about the _Mariana_. Despite the easy nature that everyone was trying to convey, an incredible amount of tension existed between all of them.

The village was a broad mixture. Some old buildings had managed to survive unscathed through Cardassian raids, while others right next to them hadn't been so lucky. Scaffolds framed them as residents gradually restored their crumbled sections. And then, more than anything, there were brand new ones that had been defiantly built on the ruins of what had been destroyed. And as the group passed each building, they could feel the cold stares of residents who clearly didn't want them there. Chakotay glanced warily around, trying to assess any potential threats.

MacCalister was growing anxious – she could sense something coming but it was taking its time. She unconsciously fingered the hilt of the phaser hidden in the inner pocket of her jacket, disguising the movement as her hand lifted to pull away hair that had been blown into her face. As soon as she did that, her unwitting wish was answered. Teramar whirled round on her, disruptor drawn, and a dissatisfied grin on his face. "You just made this too easy."

***

After making Harry Kim promise to take good care of her ship, Captain Janeway was joined by Tuvok and Torres in Transporter Room Two. Along with their survey equipment, the chief sent them to the surface.

On the bridge, Lieutenant Parsons felt a vise press on her heart when the readings came across the main Tactical console. She called down to the chief, which immediately drew Harry's attention. He questioned what was going on, the blood drained from her face when she told him, "The away team never reached the surface.

Tuvok was the first to appear, his position shifted from what it had been on the transporter pad. He turned around just in time to see B'Elanna materialize, and the captain a few seconds later. Janeway's expression twisted into a frown as soon as she saw him staring at her, and then her gaze moved past him to where they had landed. It was a small park in the middle of a community, and one that had obviously seen better days. "Any guesses as to where we are?" she mused.

"Definitely not where we should be," Torres muttered, scanning around them with her tricorder. "There's no signs of the minerals we came here for."

"Question is … where is here?" Janeway took a few wandering steps around as she watched the buildings around her. "Are there any people here?"

"There are scattered life signs," her security chief reported. "Only about three dozen, mostly human."

"Are they aware of us?"

"Not that I can see. They appear to be moving about their normal business."

"Something's not right," she muttered, her eyes scanning the buildings. "But what?"

***

Teramore was fast, but in a surprising rush of fury MacCalister leapt at him, giving Paris and Chakotay the chance to snatch weapons away from his stunned associates. Unable to keep his footing, Teramore tumbled to the ground with the commander mercilessly pummeling at him, stopped only when her companions tore her off of him and started to back their way down the street. They broke out into a full run when the greeting party started to fire heavily on them, and took cover behind the crumbled half walls of what had originally been a large home.

Janeway's group whirled around at the sound of disruptors, diving for cover and returning fire the second that the beams started to shoot out in their direction. The away team scattered, with the captain heading for a small, but sharp rise in the grass, Tuvok behind a large statue on the other side of the walkway, and B'Elanna stuck down behind a line of decorative boulders that marked off the park's border. It put her perilously close to their new aggressors.

Janeway fired from behind her cover, exposed more than she should have been. A shot sliced through the air just above her head, and it was so close that it would have burned her hair if she still wore it up. She cursed under her breath, ducking down a little further when another shot went past above her. "I really don't need this."

From a hidden place in the building directly in front of them, a strong female voice hollered, "Tom get down!"

B'Elanna's head snapped around, but she was distracted by a disruptor bolt that blew half of her cover into fine dust. She glanced around, keeping her panic at bay when she saw no nearby hiding places. Another shot obliterated more than half of the remaining boulder, forcing her down onto the sandy soil.

__

"B'Elanna," Tuvok called through her communicator, _"head for the captain's position. We will cover you."_

Torres saw Janeway, who was carefully timing each precise shot that she let off toward their unseen enemy. The captain had heard too, and she risked a glance over the top of the rise before turning back to conference with Tuvok. With a nod they started their barrage, and Torres raced toward her new place of safety, weaving between the shots that were coming very close to obliterating her as well. One final dive put a barrier back between her and death, and it took a moment for her to get her breath back. When she did, the first thing she spat was, "I thought this planet was supposed to have a pre-industrial society!"

"I thought so too," her friend replied, sliding back down behind the protection of the rise.

In the centre of the battle, Tom Paris was slumped against the stone wall that he had been running for. He was bleeding from a gash just above his ear, not from the phaser blast that hit him in the shoulder, but from the force that caused him to slam into the structure. His head was swimming, and every time he tried to shake the fog away he was rewarded with a stab of pain through his temple.

Anna was trying to get him up onto his feet to move, and she draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled. "Come on, Tom, we've gotta go!" she told him firmly.

"Go where?" he said, desperately trying to get oriented again.

"Back to the ship." They managed to make it about three paces before his knees went out from under him, sending both of them crashing to the cobbles. She glanced behind her, seeing that Chakotay was firmly entrenched in the defensive position he had taken when the shooting started. "Chakotay!" He was so involved in their protection that he didn't hear, and she quickly switched to a parade square voice that thundered, "Chakotay!"

Even though he didn't move, she could see that he had heard this time. A shadow moved in the far end of his field of vision, and it suddenly occurred to him that the onslaught behind them was a familiar one. The dark form moved almost too fast for him to recognize it, but he did. "Tuvok..." he gasped under his breath.

MacCalister frowned, then told her charge to stay put before she joined the commander at the corner of the building. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "We've got to get out of here."

"I just saw Tuvok," he told her, his eyes fixed on what was unfolding a few metres away. 

The focus of fire shifted to criss-cross the space solely between the colonists and Voyager away team. Tuvok pressed himself down into the grass beside the captain, slightly out of breath when he told her, "I believe I just heard someone calling for Commander Chakotay."

"I did too," she replied, cautiously, relieved that she wasn't losing her mind. 

"If he's here, Tom might be too," Torres added. "What do we do now?"

The captain tapped her communicator. "Janeway to Chakotay."

There was a long pause, but eventually, _"Chakotay here,"_ came back at them.

Kathryn's heart leapt into her throat, though years of practice made it nearly impossible to tell. "What's your position?"

Chakotay peered around the corner and into the fray. "We're pinned down between you and Teramore's group." Beside him, MacCalister wasn't sure what to expect next. "Got any bright ideas?"

"How many of them are there?"

__

"About two dozen," the female voice that had shouted after Paris answered. _"If you can get to the west side of the village, Captain, our ship is only a short distance beyond that."_

Tuvok immediately scanned the buildings with his tricorder, then without looking held the readings out for the other two to see as he continued to fire. "We're going to need a diversion," the captain told her counterpart.

"Standby." Chakotay looked to MacCalister, who had taken a few cautious steps away from him to check out their available routes. They were cornered, but after scaling a crumbled wall, she saw the opportunity they needed. She nodded to him, and returned to check on Tom before they moved. "We'll meet you at the ship," Chakotay said, the volume of his voice growing low. "Good luck, Captain."

__

"Be careful, Chakotay."

He severed the link, then collected the others before they started to climb their way into the next street. They then left a slowly wearying Paris behind in a sheltered alcove, where they could let him rest and would be able to collect him on their way out. After a few minutes they were in place at the far end of a narrow street, but too far away to mount an effective attack. Anna motioned for him to take the left side, and with phasers drawn she darted across to the other walkway, thankful that the undercover nature of their mission allowed her quiet, civilian shoes.

Another volley of shots headed for the Voyager trio, who buried down even further. "I wish they'd hurry up," Torres muttered, squeezing the handle of her phaser just a little more tightly.

Her words were prophetic, and the beams over their heads ceased as they were shifted in another direction. The three of them risked a glance over the rise, and saw that their way was clear to head for the better position on the west side of the park. They sprinted across the relatively open expanse, finding refuge in an abandoned half-building on the west side of what was once an elegantly appointed courtyard. "Can you tell where they are?" Janeway demanded.

Tuvok scanned again and said, "They are moving in our direction."

The second that MacCalister opened fire, they were bombarded by Teramore's soldiers. They maintained a position as long as they could, but disruptors eventually disintegrated most of their cover and forced them to retreat. Chakotay made it back to Tom's hiding place a few steps ahead of his partner, but Paris was nowhere to be found. "Tom?" he called, racing around the confined space. "Paris!"

MacCalister stumbled back into sight, gasping for breath when she asked, "What's wrong? Where's Tom?" She didn't bother to wait for an answer. "Paris!"

Chakotay tapped his communicator. "Chakotay to Paris." No answer.

"Oh no," she muttered.

A shot split the space between them. Chakotay grabbed her arm and started off toward the west. It didn't take long before they reached the courtyard where the others were, with Teramore's men hot on their heels. "Get down!" Chakotay shouted as he leapt over a large pile of debris. But as he came down, a bolt hit him in the left shoulder and sent him tumbling wildly across the cobbled stones.

When his motion finally stopped, he looked up to find Kathryn hovering above him, unchecked worry plain in her face. Somehow she found the strength to drag him behind a partial wall for some cover, and he slumped his upper body against the bricks, staring at her for a moment before mumbling, "I'm dead."

"Not quite." He winced as she examined the burned flesh of his shoulder. "How bad is it?" she asked.

His eyes squeezed shut, and without examining his wound he told her through gritted teeth, "Not as bad as it looks." He gasped, trying to get his breath back and concentrating on shutting out the burning pain his arm. "How did you get here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she replied, a gentle smile creeping into her expression as she brushed some of the grime from his forehead. "Q picked a hell of a time for a reunion."

He returned her grin. "Doesn't he always?"

Commander MacCalister was a few feet away, pinned behind an insufficient cover just as B'Elanna had been a short while before. Bolts were raining down on their position, and even with the five of them firing, they were still having problems finding their attackers.

"Cover me," MacCalister ordered, just a moment before she risked all to race out across the open space between her and Chakotay. The breath slammed out of her lungs as she landed on the paved surface, but it didn't slow her momentum as she clambered up to take a defensive position between the two of them. "There's a fourth one up there," she whispered, pointing to a rooftop corner with the tip of her phaser.

"I don't see it," Janeway countered, squinting to find what the mystery commander was referring to.

"There." The other woman was about to explain, but opportunity cut her off and she fired. To prove that she was telling the truth, the upper level gunman tumbled off the edge of the roof and down to the street below.

Janeway exchanged a shocked glance with Chakotay, who simply hauled himself up to watch the area before them as he said, "Captain Janeway, Commander MacCalister."

Another disruptor bolt slammed into the side of the building behind them, showering them in debris. "Welcome back to the alpha quadrant," the commander muttered before squeezing off another shot.

A barely audible transmission sounded through the communicator that had been hidden inside MacCalister's jacket. _"Paris to MacCalister."_

"MacCalister here," she called back over the din. "Where are you?"

__

"I'm about seventy metres to your west. Head for the street exit and my position – it's clear."

With some coordination, the group did as he directed and headed out into the next street. They only managed to travel a short way toward their ship before they were pinned down again, this time in a small alcove formed by the haphazard joint of two separate buildings. Their location gave them no vantage, and firing blind they only managed to fell one or two of their attackers. But the enemy had other things in mind, and instead of concentrating their attack on the six Starfleet officers, their fire focused on the stone below. The ground opened up under them, and in a split second they were all tumbled into a black void below. Dust flew up as bodies dropped down, with a lot of bruises gained in the process.

Janeway was the first one to force herself upright. "Anybody hurt?"

There was a consensus of murmurs and affirmative grunts, save for a sharp gasp of pain. Paris had landed in a heap, half-covering both Tuvok and MacCalister, and in bracing himself to sit up, pushed his hand against her now-broken ribs. It prompted momentary clarity in his foggy mind, and he rolled off with a start and an apology.

"Anna?" Chakotay questioned, slowly climbing to his feet.

"I'm alright," she told him. Then she sat up, and immediately regretted it. Wishing to dispel everyone's concerns she mumbled, "What the hell happened?"

"Concentrating their fire at our feet destabilized the rock below," Tuvok said, making sure that all team members were more or less standing.

"You think they dumped us down here intentionally," Paris added.

With a solemn nod Tuvok stated, "Undoubtedly."

To confirm their fears, the voices of their attackers could be heard from above, barely distinguishable from one another. But though they were difficult to understand, their meaning was clear. "We have to find a way out of here," Janeway ordered, leading them away from the hole and starting to scan the area around them.

"Where are we?" MacCalister questioned, tightly holding her left side.

"We appear to be underneath the main lodging complex," Tuvok reported as he swept his tricorder across the large, mostly empty chamber. "There are several access ports leading to both the streets and the interior rooms of the building."

"Anything we can use, Tuvok?"

"I do not believe so, Captain. The hatches and tunnels are magnetically sealed and protected by forcefields."

"It was to protect them from sneak attacks by the Cardassians," Torres added, stopping suddenly when a small rodent skittered across their path. "Either that or the rats."

"Can we bypass them?" Chakotay asked, inwardly shivering at the furry creature as it disappeared though a small hole in the cave's wall.

"I'll try." She handed her phaser off to Paris, then started working at the panel next to the hatch that Tuvok indicated. He then turned his back to her, watching the area around them for any followers.

Janeway took over scanning the dusty cavern, which was littered with old crates and abandoned machinery, much of which had taken heavy damage in Cardassian raids. Chakotay stood close behind her, assuming his old role as her bodyguard. "You alright?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Fine," she nodded, her voice matching his. "You?"

"Better now."

Kathryn allowed herself a small smile as she concentrated on the readings. "This looks like a whole series of tunnels. We could be down here for days."

He briefly took his eyes off their surroundings in order to check her tricorder. "Do you think you can find us a way out of here?"

"With a little time, maybe…"

An electric spark lit up the air, accompanied by sizzling circuitry and a loud Klingon curse. Torres stepped back, trying to rub the sting out of her fingers while she glared at the now-blackened panel. "We're not getting out that way."

MacCalister had lingered behind, and her breathing hissed through clenched teeth as she looked up to examine their entry point. The hole was jagged in the rock, but there was something uniform about its shape – something she found particularly unnerving. A faint click sounded, and from a distance they could hear the whir of old machinery starting to function. Her suspicions were confirmed when a flat, solid wooden door started to slide across the hole. It was far beyond any of their reaches, so the group had no choice but to merely watch as they were sealed in.

Paris sighed as he stared through the dark, a bright purple block in his vision from the sudden light deprivation. "What next?"

His answer came in the form of a shot, one that hit MacCalister squarely in the shoulder, and she was spun to the ground with a sickening thud. The group dashed for her in the residual light that instantly faded, forming a human barrier between the commander and her attacker, their phasers drawn. Knowing they were near a wall when they fell, the officers formed a half circle that kept their backs to the rock and their weapons forward.

Behind them, Tom was kneeling at the commander's side, trying to offer the comfort that was his only tool at the moment.

"We have to put some light in here," Chakotay quietly suggested.

"They'll know where we are the second we fire," Torres countered.

"They know where we are anyway," Janeway surmised. "Some light may give us a chance to find cover. Tuvok?"

"Now." As he laid a wide dispersal of blind fire out in the direction of their new assailant, Janeway directed her phaser out toward the right, searching for the abandoned excavating vehicle that she knew was there somewhere. Chakotay and Torres joined Tuvok's attack plan, and the darkness was gradually driven back as the metal of the excavator was heated to a red glow. But the enemy, in turn, laid out fire all around them, and effectively set fire to any storage containers and crates that could have served as their shelter.

Janeway reluctantly ceased fire, then held the tip of her deactivated phaser upward so that the others would do the same. Looking around her, she could tell that it wouldn't be long before the smoke overtook them all. Beside her, Chakotay's brain was grinding for a solution that could save them all now. He hadn't been in a situation like this for a very long time, and somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if his senses hadn't been dulled by his time on Voyager. Torres' gaze was darting around the room, and she was the first to see the figures as they emerged from their own cover, mere metres across the way. "There!" she pointed, keeping her phaser trained on the right flank.

In front of them a series of small lights snapped on, blinding everyone just as they had become accustomed to the distorted orange glow of the fires. Taking a stab at diplomacy, Janeway slowly stepped forward and raised her hands as she said, "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway…"

"I know who you are, Captain," a familiar voice thundered back at her. "Drop your weapons." All eyes were on her, and with a nod she ordered them to do as she did, and dropped her phaser to the ground. She couldn't see who it was, but the animosity in the voice was clear when he snapped, "Get up, MacCalister!" Anna was staring at the lights, dumbfounded by who was speaking, and so his raspy voice echoed through the cavern when he reminded her, "I said get up!" Her sense of Starfleet training, and nothing else, was the only thing that managed to get her onto her feet, albeit with the help of the steadying arm that Paris offered. Once vertical, the man ordered, "Front and centre."

Anna slowly made her way from behind the group, using the back of her hand to wipe away the blood that had trickled down her chin when being fired on made her bite her lip. It was easy to see the storm clouds gathering around her as she stalked toward their assailant. Chakotay felt a protective instinct to join her, but Janeway stretched an arm out across his chest to hold him in place. They watched in silence as she moved in on their adversary, slowly stepping out of their reach. "You son of a bitch," she said slowly, her voice barely more than a primal growl. "You were behind this all along. Was this all for my benefit, Admiral? Or was the resistance movement just a convenient opportunity for you to kill me?"

"You're very bright. Come with me." As soon as he said it she stopped. "Or would you rather I killed you here, along with all your friends."

For the Voyager crew, confusion reigned supreme. But they were quickly putting it all together. "Admiral Hayes, what grievance do you have against Commander MacCalister?" Tuvok inquired, his voice instantly issuing a small measure of calm across all assembled.

"Were you only after MacCalister," Janeway followed, "or was getting Chakotay and Paris here just coincidence?"

The admiral laughed. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." Without a word of warning he fired again, hitting the young woman with a low-level blast that was definitely not on stun. She cried out, doubling over slightly as she absorbed the energy. The two men that had accompanied her here started toward her.

"Don't," another voice instructed, "or she dies now."

The pair screeched to a halt, but Chakotay challenged, "What's your justification for killing her?"

"What do you think I am, the villian in some juvenile holodeck novel that will explain my _evil plan_?"

"It's a legitimate question," Janeway replied, stepping forward to join Chakotay where he stood, and instinctively laying her hand down gently over his wounded arm. "We deserve to know what reason we have to die."

"She has to be killed before she becomes too powerful."

"What kind of answer is that?" Torres spat, assuming a similar position to the captain's.

MacCalister drew enough breath to straighten up, her hand still clutched at her side. "Killing me is not going to help you steal Nacheyev's job."

Hayes grinned. "No … but one thing at a time." He fired on her again, this time sending her into a black oblivion. But this burst was cut short by the sound of phasers being fired from behind his group. His men turned too slowly to defend themselves, and were felled in a matter of seconds. "Hold your fire!" a new voice called out over the din, and once all weapons were silent, Hayes was the only one left standing.

Paris cautiously made his way to MacCalister, keeping a wary eye on what was going on in front of them. From what he could tell with no instruments, she was still alive but in bad shape. B'Elanna quickly joined him, with Tuvok at her side. A short distance away, Kathryn surreptitiously displayed her fear by tightly clutching Chakotay's hand, which no one could see because they were standing so close together. Though the smoke was making it difficult, they could see that a landing party of about thirty men had entered the cavern from the other side, with a Starfleet captain in the lead. "Stay where you are," he ordered the admiral.

"Who are you?" the admiral spat.

The man in the lead answered him over the tip of his rifle. "Captain Anthony Maxwell, _U.S.S. Pearson_. And you're under arrest, Admiral Hayes."

Hayes glanced around him, seeing his anesthetized men sprawled all around him, which Maxwell's men stepped over in order to surround him. "On what charge?"

"Treason." He motioned toward the doorway with the tip of the rifle. "Now move."

Prodded by the guards behind him, the admiral reluctantly started to ascend to the surface. As soon as he was out of sight, what was left of the new away team rushed over to the former captives. "Come on," Maxwell urged. "Let's get out of here."

They all started off to their new escape route, the _Pearson_'s security chief indicating for one of his men to pick up MacCalister's unconscious form. But what everyone had failed to see was that a small row of fuel had streaked across to a gigantic stack of discarded machinery. It blew in a huge fireball, throwing most of the people against the far wall like rags and spraying them with shrapnel. The new captain was the one that called for their emergency beam-out, but when they re-materialized in the _Pearson_'s sickbay, only Paris, Chakotay and MacCalister arrived safely along with the rest.

"Where's B'Elanna?" Paris instantly questioned, panic flashing through his voice.

"Maxwell to Transporter Chief."

__

"Chief here."

"Do you have the rest of the _Mariana_'s away team?"

__

"No sir. They were all beamed to Sickbay."

The crew of the _Pearson_ searched in vain, but there was no sign of Janeway, Torres or Tuvok. Chakotay felt his knees go out from under him, latching onto the corner of the nearest biobed to avoid collapsing to the deck. _Not again,_ he silently moaned, _I can't lose her again._ There was no sign of them, and the inevitable conclusion that their patterns had been scrambled in the emergency evacuation was finally entered into the official records an hour and a half later. Captain Kathryn Janeway, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, and Lieutenant-Commander Tuvok were all officially declared dead, victims of a transporter malfunction.

__

"Voyager to away team – please respond!"

Janeway scanned the new landscape around her, and it took a few moments for their shift in position to register. Once that occurred, she finally heard the panicked call from Harry Kim. The captain tapped her commbadge, and with a resigned sigh replied, "Janeway here."

There was an audible pause in the communication, before Harry managed to stammer, _"Are you alright, Captain? We lost you in mid-transport…"_

"We're all here," she confirmed, gently cutting him off. "How long?"

__

"Half an hour. We detected a massive explosion back at the cube's location – that's when we lost you."

"The cube?"

She looked to B'Elanna, who murmured, "Oh god…"

"Harry, beam us back and set a course of the cube," Janeway ordered, "maximum warp."

The trio shimmered and disappeared from the planet's surface, and as soon as they were securely on board Voyager jumped to life. Even at top speed, it would still take them two hours to reach their previous position. The captain remained in the command chair, using any little distraction to keep her mind from wandering back to Chakotay, and the remarkably intense hour that she had just spent with him courtesy of Q. She was successful enough that Harry's announcement of their arrival actually startled her a little. 

"Where's the cube?" she questioned, her hands planting down on her hips when she stood.

Harry worked the controls until he got the answer, and his expression turned grim. "It's crashed in the northern hemisphere of the moon."

"Onscreen." She tried to find something in the nondescript, cratered surface that flashed onto the viewer, but nothing obvious presented itself. "Magnify."

The scrolling image switched to a more detailed scan, and a collective gasp could be heard across the bridge when the wreckage appeared. It looked as though the cube had been slammed into the surface, point first, and then flattened from the force of the impact. Debris was scattered for kilometres, with some faintly glowing elements being the only indication that this vessel had ever been spaceworthy. "Oh my god," Parsons gasped, speaking the thoughts of everyone there.

"What happened?" the captain questioned.

"I am detecting residual weapons signatures," Tuvok reported, his voice unfaltering despite the tension around him. But there was a small pause before he announced, "They belong to Species 8472."

Janeway whirled around, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What?"

"Confirmed," Seven added from the aft station. She thought for a moment, then said almost to herself, "It would appear that Axum was successful in contacting them."

***

Chakotay sat in the _Pearson_'s forward observation lounge, staring silently out at the stars. He had hardly spoken a word since Kathryn's death, and at Tom's request the ship's counselor was steered directly away from him by Captain Maxwell. It left Chakotay in a uneasy silence, one that allowed him to try and grieve like he knew he should. But for some reason he couldn't – couldn't cry, couldn't scream, couldn't throw a chair across the room. All he could do was sit in front of the window, stare out at the passing stars, and review what had happened to him over the last three months.

First he had allowed the woman he loved to be voluntarily assimilated by the Borg. Then he had been lucky enough to get her back – but not whole. So as they tried, unsuccessfully, to restore her to her former self, their resident omnipotent being decided to see just how much he could mess things up. But fate was playing into their hands, as they had the cube to bring them together again. Judging by her letter to him, she was making progress, even though Voyager and the cube weren't. Then Anna MacCalister, the step-niece that Janeway never knew she had, came into his life and offered him a way out of jail. Oddly enough, that escape from prison landed him back together with Kathryn Janeway, only to allow him to be present at the moment of her death.

It made no sense to him. He didn't believe in things as futile as fate or destiny, only that life unfolded universally as it should. But there was a tiny part of Chakotay that hoped in things such as luck and karma, and at the moment it was the only part that felt anything at all. And the more he thought about it, the more the anger built, almost to the point that would let him start to grieve.

That was when a flash of light behind him lit up the small room. A sigh escaped through suddenly clenched teeth, but Chakotay didn't flinch. Instead he remained focused on the passing stars, momentarily stunning the new visitor. Finally Q said, "I'm disappointed in you, Commander."

"Is that so?"

There was a resignation in the human's voice that set Q back. He had seen what he had assumed to be every facet of the human race – from triumph to tragedy, and from murder to fear for one's life. But the constant in all of them had been the indomitable spirit that had intrigued him in the first place. And this spirit was completely absent in the commander. "Not even a single, solitary tear for the woman that you loved?" This time Chakotay didn't answer him, and for once in his existence it made Q uncomfortable. He disappeared without so much as another word.

***

Torres came in quickly, but was filled with apprehension as she handed over the padd. In a single sentence she summed up her report. "We're on our own."

The captain looked up sharply, then took the report from her friend and glanced through it. "Weapon systems are heavily damaged," she recited, "transwarp coils are fused, communications destroyed..." With a flick of her wrist, the small device skidded across the surface of her desk until it stopped up against the computer. 

B'Elanna glanced nervously around the room. "What do we do now?"

"Destroy what's left," Janeway said after a long pause, rubbing at her temple. "And then we move on." The pained look on her engineer's face said it all, and Kathryn found herself flashing back to the day she obliterated the Caretaker's array. "At least we covered some distance," she added, trying to make both of them see the bright side. She did not want to let herself think about another loss – not yet anyway. "We've only got twenty years to go now."

Torres recognized the attempt, thought it was not enough to make her smile. "Somehow I don't think Tom will wait that long." She knew that this was going to weigh heavily on her friend, and she quietly offered, "I'm sorry."

The other nodded. "So am I." Then as she rose to get more coffee she said, "Will you send Tuvok in here on your way out?"

"Of course, Captain."

After destroying what was left of the cube, Janeway set a course for another nearby planet where they detected both edible plants and minerals that they would need to collect before starting their new push for home. Then she retired to her quarters, losing all semblance of emotional control once the door closed behind her. She didn't cry, but was overwhelmed by utter defeat.

Kathryn wandered aimlessly around her quarters, dropping her uniform jacket across the surface of the desk when she stopped to stretch the aching muscles between her shoulders. As her head rolled from side to side, her gaze fell on her sister's wedding picture. Something piqued her interest, and she moved to the shelf and took the frame down to examine its contents. Her eyes widened when she recognized someone other than her mother and sister. "MacCalister…" she breathed. Sure enough, standing to the left of Pheobe's husband, was a slightly younger version of the woman that had been with Chakotay. "Anna MacCalister."

***

Almost a week passed before the _Pearson_ returned to Earth, where Admiral Hayes was turned over to Starfleet Security, and Chakotay and Paris were absolved of any remaining charges. Commander MacCalister was transferred to Starfleet Medical for continued care - she had slipped into a coma almost immediately after their arrival on the _Pearson_, and had only returned to the land of the living the day before. The news of Captain Janeway's death, after being so close to home, spread a sombre tone throughout the ship, as well as Headquarters when they reached orbit.

The Pathfinder team sent out the next data stream two weeks later, with files specifically addressed to Harry Kim, who was assumed to be Voyager's new commanding officer. Needless to say there was shock, and guarded celebration between Chakotay and Paris. B'Elanna and Kathryn were indeed alive, but were still two decades away. Tom toyed with the idea of catching up with the deep space vessels sent to meet Voyager – the Galek Ren and the Thompson – but even he knew when he would have to concede defeat.

A letter was delivered to Chakotay late on Thursday, and though he knew who he hoped it was from, he had been getting so many communications since word got out of his return to the alpha quadrant that he wasn't sure until he started reading.

__

Dear Chakotay,

I'm alive - with a little help from Q.

The three of us were pulled back into the delta quadrant during mid-transport and put back on the planet we were originally beaming down to, albeit half an hour late. Poor Harry thought he lost us for sure.

While Voyager was searching for us, Species 8472 decided to fire on the cube, which we had left behind so as not to scare the planet's inhabitants. The cruelest irony of all was that they couldn't have actually destroyed the cube themselves. They left it up to me. I flashed back to our first days together, and how I sealed our fates by destroying the Caretaker's array. It killed me to have to strand us here again, even if it was fifty-five years closer to home than when we started.

I'm still twenty years away from you.

I don't know what to think right now. Wishing you were here won't make it happen, but wishing is all I seem to be able to do right now. And you know me – I couldn't allow myself to dwell in self-pity even if I wanted to. So I'm sending this in the hope that you're safe, and that Starfleet will know where to find you to deliver it. Q has suddenly become unavailable, so I fear that yet another hard reality is upon us.

But for now, just remember that I love you, and I miss you.

Always,

Kathryn

He glanced up from the padd, now looking out at the slightly hidden view of San Francisco that his new quarters afforded him. It was a bright, sunny day, in direct contrast to his melancholy mood. He felt no need to go anywhere or do anything, and since nobody had decided his next move, his quarters were exactly where he intended to stay. At least for the day.

__

"MacCalister to Commander Chakotay."

"Chakotay here," he instinctively responded.

__

"Could you please join me in my office?"

"I'll be right there."

Chakotay strode down the corridors of Starfleet Command half an hour later, and was quite surprised to find Tom Paris standing just outside the door to his destination. Once Paris noticed him approaching he commented, "I was beginning to think that they arrested you again."

"Fortunately, they don't want to feed me anymore. How's your head?"

"Better, thanks." As they turned toward the door Paris added, "I can't believe that she's back at work already."

Chakotay couldn't help but chuckle. "Even if it's not by blood, she's still a Janeway." He reached out and activated the door chime.

Inside the office, Anna glanced at the chronometer in her desk when the chime rang. "Well that didn't take long," she commented softly to herself, slowing lifting herself out of her chair with her arms and making her way around the desk as she called, "Enter." The doors opened to admit her new guests, and her face lit up in a smile as soon as she saw them. "Come in gentlemen, please."

The pair walked in, Chakotay stopping when he spied the major difference in her, other than the fact that it was the first time he had seen her vertical in weeks. "It's good to see you up and about, _Captain_."

Paris questioned, "When did _that _happen?" 

She laughed, a bit of blush coloring her cheeks. "Admiral Nacheyev decided that exposing Hayes' plot was reason enough for a promotion. Defending her honor didn't hurt either. But after this experience, I'm not sure that I like being on the 'fast track to the admiralty'." Turning back to the desk, she retrieved a pair of padds, which she then handed to the two men. "Your new assignment offers," she explained, sitting back on the edge of her desk. "And something special for you, Chakotay."

With slow, stiffened steps, she walked over and stopped directly in front of him. "Anna?" he questioned, when she reached up and removed the rank bar from his collar.

MacCalister held up the first of three gold circles. "These are my old pips. I thought you might like to have me 'pin' you."

"Pin me?"

"It's an twentieth century tradition," Paris helpfully added. "Rank then was signified by fabric symbols. Some organizations held a tradition of having a loved one or friend pin the new rank onto the uniform the person wore."

"Just be thankful that I'm not out for blood," she told him, affixing the second pip. Then she laughed again when she saw the disbelieving look he was giving her. "Trust me," she assured, putting the last one in place, "it's in the bag." Once she was done, she stepped back and extended her hand to him. "Congratulations, Commander."

But before he could shake her hand, both he and Paris disappeared, leaving in a bright flash of light. They were replaced by Q, who stood where Chakotay had been. "Good morning, Captain."

***

Half a dozen away teams beamed down to the surface, which put them all into a lush landscape. They split up, Torres leading a rather large group of engineers on foot across the rolling landscape as they scanned to pinpoint the mineral deposits that would hopefully be large enough to keep Voyager operational for another few months. Janeway and Neelix headed down into a nearby valley in pursuit of edible plant life, and their team divided into smaller splinters to increase their effectiveness.

B'Elanna walked briskly at the head of the group, her tricorder in her outstretched hand. It sounded a rapid series of beeps when it located its target, and all set out in a rush. They were out of breath as they climbed the large slope in front of them, but Torres reached her arms out and stopped them all when they reached the crest. She stared intently down in the small coulee in front of them, her eyes wide and unflinching as she gasped, "Oh my god..."

She stopped so fast that Joe Carey practically ran into her back. He grumbled, "What?" when he regained his balance. His boss didn't answer, so he followed her gaze down below them. It took a few seconds for recognition to hit, and he murmured, "I don't believe it."

The subjects of their attention sensed the presence of the team behind them, and both knew exactly who they were before they even turned around. Tom gaped, while Chakotay simply tried to figure out whether or not he was hallucinating. "B'Elanna!" Paris shouted, charging up the hill toward her.

She led the pack down the hill, and her laughter filling the otherwise quiet countryside when she leapt into his arms. He spun her around and kissed her, and then simply held her as tight as he could. Chakotay had settled for a fast walk to meet them all, but he too was mobbed by the engineering team as soon as they met. He hugged B'Elanna as soon as her fiancé released her, and she mentioned, "Kathryn is going to be so glad to see you."

"Where is she?" he asked as he straightened up again.

"Collecting plants." Then she turned around and addressed her team. "Come on. We still have deuterium deposits to find."

"Hang on a second," Carey interrupted, ignoring the scowl that Torres was wearing just for him and gently taking the tricorder from her hands. "We can handle everything here. You two go get acquainted again." Then he handed the tricorder to Chakotay. "Their team is west of here, only about a kilometre or so."

The group broke up and armed with the tricorder, Chakotay set out to locate the food gathering team. Carey was true to his word, and he found the first of them just over a kilometre from where he and Paris had appeared. The pair of stunned ensigns then directed him further along what had opened into a long, deep valley that had a great concentration of edible vegetation. Eventually his wandering led him to a small grove of trees, and he finally spotted them when he slowly walked around it.

She was working matter-of-factly, dictating a list of plants for Neelix to catalogue and then retrieve when he returned with the whole team. Her companion scanned in half a circle, and his expression lit up as soon as he saw the commander. Chakotay quickly put a finger to his lips, and Neelix grinned and nodded. He waited until there was a sufficient lull in the captain's orders, then managed to sneak off and pass the new arrival on his way out. Chakotay crept up behind her, but kept silent.

A sigh was the only sign of Kathryn, unintentionally escaping after having been the captain for more days in a row than she really cared to count. Other than her talks with B'Elanna and meditation sessions that Tuvok badgered her into, she couldn't remember the last time she had been anything other than Voyager's commanding officer. She took a few minutes to look around, remarking how this area mirrored the Rocky Mountain foothills back on Earth in autumn. _Earth..._ Her recollection stopped short when her thoughts returned to the home that they might reach in twenty years. And to the man that she knew would have moved on by the time she got there.

She shook her head, forcing herself back to the work at hand. "I guess that we should take an extra few kilograms of those berries," she said quietly.

"Yes ma'am."

Kathryn froze. She was hearing things – she was sure of it. "Neelix?"

"He's not here right now," he said, struggling to keep from laughing. "Want to leave a message?"

She wanted to turn around, desperate to see him and touch him and make sure that he was real and not some figment of Q's imagination. But she also felt the need to play along. "Yeah." After a moment's thought she added, "Tell him I won't be needing him for a while."

Kathryn drew a sharp breath when she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind. His breath was warm against her ear as he whispered, "I'll make sure he gets the message."

Chakotay's hold on her tightened when she settled back against him, closing her eyes and sighing again when he kissed her temple. "God I've missed you," she breathed. Then she turned around to face him and grinned when she said, "Where have you been?"

In spite of having been separated from her for basically the past two months, his patience and humor were endless. "I was getting everything ready for you," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. "Headquarters was a mess. You wouldn't believe what they get away with when you're not around."

Her patience at an end, Kathryn kissed him, and when they broke apart she couldn't help but grin. "You're too good to me."

"Never," he denied. "I could never be."

She kissed him again, and her arms wrapped around his neck as she did so. Her left hand rubbed at his ear, and then slid down his neck. Her intention was to lay her hand on his chest, but the three circular pips on his collar stopped her. "What's this?"

For a second he didn't know what she was referring to, but then he felt her fingertips running over the small gold circles. "Surprise."

Kathryn stared at the pips for what seemed to be a very long time, and then she mumbled, "I'll be damned." Between them her commbadge jumped to life, and she sighed, "Just once I'd like to throw this thing into a river."

"I could arrange it, you know."

She fixed him with a look. "Very funny. Janeway here."

__

"Captain, Lieutenant Paris has reappeared on the planet's surface," Tuvok reported, _"as well as Commander Chakotay."_

He shook his head and chuckled, while she rolled her eyes. "I am aware of it, Mr. Tuvok. The commander and I will return to the ship as soon as we're finished here. Janeway out."

She cut the connection, and he pulled her tight to him. "Just what did you want to finish, Kathryn?"

"Stop it," she laughed, unwilling to push him away just yet. "There's plenty of time for that, Chakotay."

Her words echoed the past, and he simply murmured what she had then. "Plenty of time."

She remembered too, and with a kiss assured him that the wait wouldn't be nearly as long this time. Kathryn let herself just be held for a few seconds more, but the captain inevitably returned to take charge. "You want to help me with the shopping?"

"Sure." He reluctantly let her go, but held tight to her hand as she moved away to resume the plant life she had been cataloging.

Hours later, everyone returned to the ship and completed the task of filling the stores as Voyager started for home. Despite the destruction of the cube, a sense of hope spread through the crew – part of which was the sudden return of the two officers that they all had assumed they would never see again. Once all away teams were aboard, Tuvok set them back on their course for Earth, and resigned himself to postponing the security meeting that the captain had wanted to have with his entire department. She didn't know it, of course, but his staff had convinced him to convince her to take the time off. 

For once Kathryn didn't argue, instead opting to concentrate on catching up with what Chakotay, and the fallout after Hayes' capture. They ate in the mess hall, desperately hungry after spending hours together on the planet. Both kept remarkably good humor as person after person stopped to say hello. It wouldn't have been nearly as intense if Tom had been there too, but he and B'Elanna had disappeared the instant that Carey sent them off to get 'reacquainted'. But even Chakotay's patience had its limits, and he leapt on a convenient pause in the parade to get to his feet. Offering Kathryn his arm, he led the way out of the mess hall and strolled with her to her quarters.

She let them inside, and found herself on the receiving end of a fiery kiss as soon as the doors were closed. They let themselves act like a couple of teenagers for a while, but she had to eventually push him away. "Wait a minute!" she laughed, leaning back to get away from him. "Wait a minute!"

Chakotay knew exactly what was going on, but he wasn't ready to relinquish her just yet. "I've been gone for months, and you say 'wait a minute'?" She fixed him with a look, and he started to laugh. But the laughter stopped when he saw her brow furrow. She was scrutinizing him closely, eyes narrowing as she regarded him. "What?"

"Your pips."

Not understanding what she meant, he reached down to run his fingers across his collar. The three pips that had been pinned by MacCalister were gone, replaced by the rank bar that was there before. Once he realized it he breathed, "I don't know..."

"Well I do."

The couple didn't even so much as flinch, knowing that since Chakotay and Paris were returned unharmed, this visit would be inevitable. Her eyes drifted from the man she loved to the one she despised, and after a badly-disguised sigh she asked him, "What took you so long?"

Q shrugged. "I didn't want to intrude."

"You're always intruding."

"Okay," he agreed with a shrug. "Then I didn't want to interrupt anything." He looked at Chakotay. "Don't fret about your little bits of jewelry. I took care of them."

The object of his taunt was keeping infinite patience. "What do you mean?"

"Well it wasn't official yet, now was it?" Q shook his head when he saw the look Janeway was giving him. "Oh relax, Kathy. His promotion is resting safely in the hands of Captain MacCalister until you reach Earth."

"_Captain_ MacCalister?" she echoed.

"The very same." The couple looked to each other, but didn't get to say a word before Q continued with, "Well, I have to be going now. It's my turn to teach little Q his dimensional shifting lesson. But you have to admit that my timing for your reunion is a lot better this time." He raised his hand to snap this fingers, but stopped in mid-air and eyed them. "I trust that I won't have to come back here again."

Kathryn shook her head, but not without a grin. "Q, I will do almost anything to keep you from appearing on my ship again."

He grinned, and then finally disappeared in a flash of light.

Kathryn turned to Chakotay, who grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close again. "Just what are you willing to do to keep him off the ship, Kathryn?"

She pushed him away with a laugh, and said, "Tell me all about my niece."

And after replicating a bottle of wine, they sat down, and that's exactly what he did.

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   [1]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/files/As_Promised.htm
   [2]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/files/The_End_of_Unimatrix_Zero.htm
   [3]: mailto:eydiemunroe@hotmail.com
   [4]: http://storycentre.homestead.com/story.html



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